NEWS

29.09.2011

FOOTBALL

Stoke City 2 – 1 Beşiktaş

In their second Europa League Group D match, Beşiktaş suffered a 2-1 away loss to Stoke City .


The home team started with early pressure, only to find themselves a goal down when German defender Hilbert, chasing a great pass from Quaresma, broke into the box from the left and found the bottom-right corner with his left foot after 14 minutes. Stoke City, nevertheless, recovered quickly and levelled the scores through English International Peter Crouch during a goal line scrimmage two minutes later. From there onwards, Beşiktaş, playing with more confidence, pressed on to retake the lead but failed to beat goalkeeper Sorensen, who pulled off a series of brilliant saves to keep them at bay. The first 45 minutes ended in a 1-1 draw.
 
Teams played attacking football in the second half and both hit the post along the way. When it seemed the game was destined for a draw, a questionable 75th- minute penalty, which was converted by Walters suddenly turned the game in Stoke’s favour. The remaining minutes saw the Black Eagles desperately digging for an equaliser with countless crosses from both flanks, but the tall English defence would stand in their way every time as they left the pitch with an undeserved 2-1 loss.