Pulis wants video technology after Stoke goal row

Chris Brereton

Stoke manager Tony Pulis joined the growing demand for video technology after referee Chris Foy’s late mistake condemned his side to a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham at the Britannia Stadium.

In the 90th minute, with Stoke losing 2-1 thanks to a Gareth Bale brace, Foy decided that Jonathan Walters’s header had not crossed the line following a goalmouth scramble, but replays showed it had gone in.

Foy was perfectly positioned to see whether the ball had gone in but refused to give a goal after Walters’s header hit the sliding Peter Crouch in the chest.

It was hard luck on a Stoke side which had improved as the encounter had gone on and should have perhaps got a draw, although Bale’s stunning second goal deserved to be the winner of any occasion.

“How long would it take (to use technology)?,” Pulis said. “A minute? But we are just Stoke City. I’m just Tony Pulis, I can’t change it.

“Why he is looking at the linesman only goodness knows. They don’t go out there to make a bad decision and you just have to take it on the chin.

“Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it goes against you. We had three or four players celebrating and they don’t do that unless they think it was a goal.

“First half we were not awake and that was disappointing but I thought in the second half we looked like the only side capable of scoring.”

Although Stoke had new striker Kenwyne Jones missing and Spurs only had one fit striker in the guise of Crouch, this was an exciting encounter with chances aplenty.

However, it took an outrageous piece of luck for Bale to break the deadlock after 19 minutes when Ryan Shawcross attempted to clear the ball off the Stoke goal-line but inadvertently cannoned it into Bale’s head and into the net.

Yet, Spurs’ lead lasted just six minutes as Ricardo Fuller nudged the ball in from close range from a corner to equalise.

However, Bale then scored what proved to be the winner with a fine strike that deserves to be a contender for goal of the season.

Aaron Lennon drifted a cross to the left wing and Bale met the ball superbly, curling a left-foot volley into the top corner which left Thomas Sorensen no chance.

After the break either side could have scored on several occasions although Stoke had marginally more chances.

The impressive Tuncay had a shot that took a huge deflection off Younes Kaboul and was sneaking in until Heurelho Gomes pulled off a tremendous save to tip over the bar.

From the resulting corner, he then missed a free header from just two yards out and Shawcross and Fuller both missed fine close-range chances but Spurs held on courtesy of their good fortune and Foy’s transgression.

“I thought it was a well deserved win,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said.

“If you watch it on the replay Huth has pushed Gomes so it’s a foul and the ref had not seen it so it was justice done.”

Redknapp also praised the goalscoring and industry of Bale who was the best player on the pitch for most of this encounter.

“The second goal from Bale was volleying technique at its best,” Redknapp added. “It was fantastic technique and any young lad watching that should learn. There will not be many better goals than that this season.

“Theres no better let sided player in the country. He is just a fantastic young talent.”

STOKE, Sunday, AFP