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Played
December 26, 2011 7:45 PM GMT
Britannia Stadium — Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 27739
December 26, 2011 7:45 PM GMT
Britannia Stadium — Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 27739
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| Stoke City | 1.91 | 6.00 | 1.95 | 9.50 | 2.00 | 12.00 | 2.07 | 1.90 |
| Draw | 3.35 | 1.18 | 3.30 | 1.12 | 3.30 | 1.03 | 3.30 | 3.40 |
| Aston Villa | 4.15 | 9.50 | 3.90 | 15.00 | 4.00 | 18.00 | 3.95 | 3.90 |
Top of the Match
Richard Dunne
Aston Villa
Aston Villa
Thomas Sørensen
Stoke City
Stoke City
Flop of the Match
Charles N'Zogbia
Aston Villa
Aston Villa
Asmir Begovic
Stoke City
Stoke City
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Stoke City 0-0 Aston Villa: Neither side able to find the breakthrough as Potters are held to Boxing Day draw at Britannia Stadium
A bore draw for the hosts in a match that saw chances at a premium but frustration all-round as both sides come close to snatching all three points with goalkeepers in good form
By Joe Doyle
Getty Images
Stoke City were held to a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa after Marc Wilson's effort in the second half crashed off the bar for the hosts as they remain hard to beat at home in the Premier League.
The home side came closest to opening the scoring, though Villa themselves hit the post in the first half through Emile Heskey before Nathan Delfouneso found Thomas Sorensen in his way in the Stoke goal.
Stoke began in their usual dominant style in the air, pressing Villa early with a series of early corners and throw-ins, resulting in a header for Robert Huth that went over Brad Guzan’s bar.
The teams cancelled each other out for much of the opening 20 minutes, but the first real chance fell to Heskey, as his header hit the post from Charles N'Zogbia's corner.
There was a quick moment of amusement after 25 minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor attempted to chase back and defend - knocking over referee Mark Clattenburg in the process, but Clattenburg recovered without too much pride lost.
From a free-kick given moments later by his linesman, Huth again headed over the bar, and should have done a lot better.
Wilson Palacios was then lucky to escape action from the referee as he tackled Stilyan Petrov from behind. A foul was given for the clumsy attempt, but no further action was taken.
There were some more strong tackles flying in throughout the game, but there was no sinister edge to the match, with Ciaran Clark putting in a strong challenge on Dean Whitehead, but taking the ball cleanly.
Kenwyne Jones came close to opening the scoring late on in the half, chasing his own flick-on towards goal, but Guzan was out quickly to smother the ball at the striker's feet and keep it all square at half-time.
Alex McLeish was forced into a substitution at half-time as Heskey suffered a recurrence of an Achilles injury, with Nathan Delfouneso his replacement.
And there was almost an instant impact for the starlet, as he won a flick on before Agbonlahor turned Shawcross and sprinted for goal. The pacey striker crossed for Delfouneso, but his effort on the slide was well stopped by Thomas Sorensen.
Huth again had a chance from a header, but this time Richard Dunne did just enough to put him off and again the ball flew over the bar.
With just over 20 minutes to go, Wilson came as close as either side had done to finding the back of the net, meeting Etherington's corner with a header that crashed off the underside of the bar and onto the chest of Agbonlahor, who just managed to keep the ball from crossing the line.
Stoke continued their aerial siege on the Villa goal, but were susceptible to the counter attack and had to be wary of players such as N'Zogbia, Albrighton, Agbonlahor and Delfouneso, who could all break at pace.
N'Zogbia came close for Villa, though it was due to the fact that Sorensen spilled his soft free-kick, although it fell straight to a defender, luckily for the 'keeper.
The match started to get a bit of pace about it as both teams started to push for a goal in the latter stages, but it seemed that they were all happy to settle for a Boxing Day draw.
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The home side came closest to opening the scoring, though Villa themselves hit the post in the first half through Emile Heskey before Nathan Delfouneso found Thomas Sorensen in his way in the Stoke goal.
Stoke began in their usual dominant style in the air, pressing Villa early with a series of early corners and throw-ins, resulting in a header for Robert Huth that went over Brad Guzan’s bar.
The teams cancelled each other out for much of the opening 20 minutes, but the first real chance fell to Heskey, as his header hit the post from Charles N'Zogbia's corner.
There was a quick moment of amusement after 25 minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor attempted to chase back and defend - knocking over referee Mark Clattenburg in the process, but Clattenburg recovered without too much pride lost.
From a free-kick given moments later by his linesman, Huth again headed over the bar, and should have done a lot better.
Wilson Palacios was then lucky to escape action from the referee as he tackled Stilyan Petrov from behind. A foul was given for the clumsy attempt, but no further action was taken.
There were some more strong tackles flying in throughout the game, but there was no sinister edge to the match, with Ciaran Clark putting in a strong challenge on Dean Whitehead, but taking the ball cleanly.
Kenwyne Jones came close to opening the scoring late on in the half, chasing his own flick-on towards goal, but Guzan was out quickly to smother the ball at the striker's feet and keep it all square at half-time.
Depressing stuff | A drab affair at the Britannia was certainly not a crowd-pleaser
Alex McLeish was forced into a substitution at half-time as Heskey suffered a recurrence of an Achilles injury, with Nathan Delfouneso his replacement.
And there was almost an instant impact for the starlet, as he won a flick on before Agbonlahor turned Shawcross and sprinted for goal. The pacey striker crossed for Delfouneso, but his effort on the slide was well stopped by Thomas Sorensen.
Huth again had a chance from a header, but this time Richard Dunne did just enough to put him off and again the ball flew over the bar.
With just over 20 minutes to go, Wilson came as close as either side had done to finding the back of the net, meeting Etherington's corner with a header that crashed off the underside of the bar and onto the chest of Agbonlahor, who just managed to keep the ball from crossing the line.
Stoke continued their aerial siege on the Villa goal, but were susceptible to the counter attack and had to be wary of players such as N'Zogbia, Albrighton, Agbonlahor and Delfouneso, who could all break at pace.
N'Zogbia came close for Villa, though it was due to the fact that Sorensen spilled his soft free-kick, although it fell straight to a defender, luckily for the 'keeper.
The match started to get a bit of pace about it as both teams started to push for a goal in the latter stages, but it seemed that they were all happy to settle for a Boxing Day draw.
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Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match- Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In GMT
Match News
Top Scorers
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30 | 2 |
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23 | 3 |
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17 | 4 |
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17 | 3 |
