Birmingham 3 - Stoke 3: Peter Lovenkrands saves the day in extra time

JOY: Peter Crouch pulled it out the bag to give Stoke the lead [GETTY]

Stoke produced a pearler to take the lead after 10 minutes. Marko Arnautovic’s incisive pass sent Marc Muniesa through on the left, but when he cut the ball back to unmarked Oussama Assaidi there seemed little danger.

That was until the Moroccan international, on a season-long loan from Liverpool, let fly with a rocket from 25-yards that gave Blues keeper Colin Doyle no chance.

Birmingham have collapsed in the two-and-a-bit years since they won the League Cup but there is still something about the trophy that brings the best from them.

They found a bit of brilliance to stun their Premier League opponents with a wonderfully worked goal.

It came from an opening created by giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic, the one player left from the Wembley team.

He got a flick on to a ball from teenage full-back Mitch Hancox that put Lee Novak clear, and the striker played a clever reverse pass into the path of midfielder Tom Adeyemi.

Blues were well in the game until midfielder Wade Elliott receive a harsh red card.

“Peter Crouch produced a classic towering header to put Stoke back in front 10 minutes after half time”

Referee Andy D’Urso relied on an assistant on the far side of the field to give the decision just before the break.

The official was close to the action as Elliott and Assaidi competed for a throw-in.
Assaidi appeared to turn into Elliott’s raised elbow and went down. It sparked a melee of pushing and shoving from both sets of players, but ended with D’Urso sending Elliott off.

Peter Crouch produced a classic towering header to put Stoke back in front 10 minutes after half time. This was old-school Stoke as the former England striker met a long diagonal ball from full-back Muniesa.

With 18 minutes left Arnautovic’s powerful strike from the edge of the box beat Doyle to put Stoke 3-1 up.
But sub Lovenkrands stabbed the ball over the line with six minutes left and tapped home a dramatic equaliser in injury-time after Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen failed to hold a Demarai Gray shot.

SAVIOUR: Lovenkrands came off the bench to save Birmingham from defeat [GETTY]