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PNE v Stoke: Minute By Minute

Posted on: Sat 25 Jul 2009

PNE v Stoke City
Deepdale
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 25th July 3pm kick-off

Final Score: PNE 2 Stoke 1 (Mellor 33, 44 - Cresswell 80)

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90+2 min: It's all over here! An encouraging start to the campaign at Deepdale. North End playing some really good football in spells and Neil Mellor showing some predatory instincts in front of goal. The Premiership side looked strong towards the end of the game with Delap the main weapon but North End held on to record a morale-boosting vicotry over a decent Stoke outfit. All eyes now to Tuesday night when PNE will be hopeful of making it a Premiership double scalp when they entertain Wigan Athletic. Join us then for the full coverage!

90 +1 min: Richard Cresswell has scored a last minute goal in a previous incarnation of this fixture and he was almost scoring again in the closing stages. Trotman mistimed his jump and his header played Richard Cresswell through on goal, Chilvers came across and Henderson came out but the former PNE and Leeds man could only curl his effort beyond the far post, much to the relief and joy of the North End fans!

90 min: Two minutes of added time here.

83 min: A bit of late pressure from Stoke as Rory Delap's throws cause a bit of a rumpus in the North End box.

80 min: Goal for Stoke!!! It comes from a trademark Rory Delap throw on the right, right into the mixer, Richard Cresswell is there to head home.

79 min: Today's attendance is 3,121.

78 min: Eddie Nolan with a strike on target. The Irish full-back was released down the left flank thanks to a great long-range pass from Darren Carter, Nolan cutting inside his man and smashing a shot which Sorenson does well to save.

74 min: Stephen Elliott with a crack at goal. The striker exchanged passes with Chris Brown on the half-way line and with no challenge until he was 30-yards out he decided to have a strike, the shot always looked like it was going to clear the crossbar.

72 min: Carl Dickinson comes on for Andy Griffin in what is surely Stoke's last change of the afternoon?

67 min: Michael Tonge comes on for Liam Lawrence, it's a subfest here! The fourth official earning his money for a change!

66 min: Stephen Elliott is sporting a freshly shaven head in what is his first pre-season action of the campaign following injury. The Irishman straight into the thick of things getting that head to a Ross Wallace cross, the header had more loop than power though and Sorenson saved well.

65 min: Yet more replacements! Elliott on for Mellor, Brown on for Parkin and Nicholson on for Sedgwick. Keep up!

63 min: More subs Higginbottam off for Cresswell, Cort off for Sonko, Kitson off for Shetton.

60 min: A trio of subs for PNE. Hart on for Jones, Trotman on for St. Ledger and Nolan on for skipper Callum Davidson. Liam Chilvers is the lucky recepient of the armband.

58 min: The substitutions take place. Whitehead off for Delap, Whelan off for Diao and Ehterington off for Danny Pugh, who gets a mixed reception from the North End fans.

55 min: 'Rory, Rory' is the cry from the Stoke bench and Rory Delap jogs back from his warm-up on the touchline to get stripped. Stoke's 'Human Missile' primed for an assault on the PNE defence.

52 min: The ball boy on the Sir Tom Finney Stand side of the ground shows his contempt for officialdom when he kicks the ball into the back of the referee after retrieving the ball from the side of the pitch. It raises a chuckle or two from the crowd.

50 min: Etherington races away down the centre of the pitch but once again Henderson proves to be his nemesis, this time Hendo stands tall as the former West Ham man slams a shot at goal.

48 min: Henderson is right into the action with a couple of decent saves. First one as Kitson outpaced Chilvers and hit a shot on the angle, Hendo doing well to keep the ball out. The second was a really good opportunity for the Potters, Beattie squaring the ball across the face of goal and Etherington fastest to it, but he could only smash the ball into the chest of the North End keeper.

1604: One change for the Lilywhites at the break with Wayne Henderson on for Andy Lonergan.

1555: Half-time here and fans are being asked to 'Wave It, To Win It'. It's our amazing new competition which is sure to be the envy of the Football League. All you have to do is wave your match programme in the air and if our cameraman can pick you out you will win one of a selection of prizes, which range from a a meal for two in the Guild Lounge, to what surely must be the booby prize of a Blackpool FC car sticker.

45 +1 min: Half-time here and there can be no complaints. Alan Irvine's side surviving early pressure before taking a grip on the game and putting the Premiership big boys under the kosh. Great to see Mellor amongst the goals early at Deepdale.

44 min: Goal for PNE!!! Neil Mellor with his second of the afternoon! Mellor steps inside two challenges inside the Stoke box and with a third Stoke man in front of him he somehow gets a shot away and beats Sorenson with a well placed shot at the near post. Great strike!

41 min: It's all North End here against Premier League opposition. Mellor looks lively, running at the Stoke defence whenever he can, usually from a Parkin flick-on. St Ledger looks to be nudged in the back in the Stoke box but the referee turns a blind eye to it.

38 min: Wallace steps up and hits the free-kick, it takes a slight deflection but the keeper easily saves it.

37 min: North End should have had a penalty!! Mellor running at the Stoke defence, he turns inside and is goalside before being unceremoniously dumped on his backside. It looks clearly inside the box, but the referee, Mr Haines, signals for a free-kick right on the edge of the box.

35 min: Dean Whitehead has a great chance to score on his Stoke debut. The former Sunderland man who signed on the dotted line yesterday somehow smashed the ball over the bar from only four yards out after Shawcross had headed the ball into the dangerzone.

33 min: Goal for PNE!!! Neil Mellor gets the first goal of the game with a simple strike into the unguarded net. It came after Wallace and Carter had worked a short corner on the right, Wallace swung the cross in and Sorenson came for the ball and completely missed it with St. Ledger in close attendance. The ball went straight through the crowd and Mellor had an open goal to aim for, he made no mistake.

32 min: Parkin gets space on the right of the box, the big man has time to pick out Mellor in the middle and the ex-Liverpool striker hits a shot straight at goal, Sorenson somehow managed to tip the ball over the bar, it was almost an embarassing moment for the former Villa man.

31 min: Good pressure from Alan Irvine's men. They definitely have the territorial advantage with Stoke looking to hit the home team on the break.

29 min: Sedgwick has a shot on target and forces Sorenson into a save, tipping the ball over the bar for a corner. The shot came from Sedgwick's left foot as he cut inside the marker on the edge of the box.

26 min: A couple of decent chances for North End. First one came when Wallace played a ball into Carter at chest height, the former West Brom man, took the ball on the full and took it past his marker and into the box, caught between a cross and a shot though he was closed down quickly before he could make up his mind. Then seconds later Wallace again was provider, this time to the back post and Sedgwick probably had more time than he thought as he attempted a volley, Sedge miscued his effort and the keeper saved well.

22 min: Ryan Shawcross with a glancing header across the face of goal. It came from a Liam Lawrence corner on the left, Shawcross getting up highest but his header lacked any real direction.

19 min: Parkin had a great opportunity to score against his former club. Carter with a deceptively good ball across the face of goal, Parkin ghosting in at the back post but the big man blast the volley high into the Bill Shankly Kop, much to the amusement of the Stoke fans congregated behind the goal.

18 min: Parkin is bundled over by Shawcross as the Lilywhites launch a good move towards Stoke's box. The ref awards a free-kick and North End's first shot on target comes from the free-kick as Wallace bends a shot around the wall but safely into the arms of Sorenson.

11 min: Lonergan saves!!! Liam Lawrence steps up and slams the ball low towards the bottom corner but Lonergan guesses right and pulls off a fine save to tip the ball around the post.

10 min: Stoke have a penalty! Beattie and Kitson on the counterattack. Beattie releasing Kitson into the channel and as the former Reading man looks to cut inside the challenge of St. Ledger, the ginger haired striker trips over St. Ledger's trailing leg.

9 min: Some good passing from Alan Irvine's side, Carter and Chaplow getting plenty of time on the ball in the centre of the park. Mellor and Parkin are working hard but they are being closely marked by their Stoke counterparts.

5 min: The big advantage of being sat at this side of the stadium is that we can see exactly what is going on on the bench. With a bit of a quiet atmosphere we can also hear what is going on on the bench today, Tony Pulis' West Country lilt the loudest amongst the crowd.

2 min: We are underway here and the two sides have settled into the game early enough. Some nice passing moves from both sides on the fantastically lush Deepdale turf.

1500: The teams are out and as the teams are read out their is a hearty round of applause for the new captain Callum Davidson, whilst Jon 'THE BEAST' Parkin gets a great reception from the away support, a former Potter.

1452: A couple of familiar faces on the Stoke bench. Cresswell and Pugh both former Lilywhites. It was interesting to see Cressy's reaction as the big screen showed the former PNE striker scoring an injury time winner in a 4-3 victory over Stoke from the Craig Brown era.

1448: A new location for the media team this year. We are based over in the Invincibles Pavilion, on the gantry so that we can give you full commentaries, get the best views in the house and also make sure that the highlights come with commentary when we put them on the web on Monday. Top stuff. It is a great view from up here!!!

1441: So we're back at Deepdale! Seems like only yesterday that we were wiping away the tears following that cruel play-off defeat.

PNE: Lonergan, Jones, St. Ledger, Chilvers, Davidson, Sedgwick, Carter, Chaplow, Wallace, Parkin, Mellor. Subs: Henderson, Hart, Hawley, Brown, Nicholson, Trotman, Elliott, Nolan.
Stoke: Sorenson, Griffin, Cort, Higginbotham, Shawcross, Lawrence, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Beattie, Kitson. Subs: Simonsen, Dickinson, Diao, Pugh, Tonge, Cresswell, Shetton, Sonko.