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Your support makes all the difference.Stoke City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Stockport County. . . . . . . . . . . . .1
THE bad blood between Stoke and Stockport, which stems from two bitter matches in the play-offs last season, spilled over after the final whistle at the Victoria Ground last night.
Mark Stein, who had scored Stoke's first goal in a victory which stretched their lead in the Second Division to 10 points, threw a right hook in the face of Stockport's Jim Gannon as the teams left the pitch. While Gannon's colleagues struggled to prevent him from retaliating, the Stoke manager, Lou Macari, also became embroiled before all the protagonists were hustled into the tunnel by police and the respective coaching staffs.
The referee, Alan Dawson, later confirmed that Stein would be reported to the FA for 'violent conduct after the game'. If found guilty, Stoke's leading scorer is likely to be suspended for three games. Gannon, who was also involved in an incident which led to the dismissal of Stoke's Carl Beeston last May, left the ground with a large bruise under his left eye.
Macari claimed that the South African-born Stein had been provoked by a comment, and said that his own intention was to get his players off the pitch before the situation deteriorated. He added: 'I didn't see what happened and neither did the ref.'
The unsavoury scenes overshadowed what the referee called 'a smashing game, played in great spirit'. Following a largely forgettable opening 45 minutes, in which Beeston hit the underside of Stockport's bar with a 34th-minute header, the contest burst into life two minutes after half-time.
The 5ft 5in Stein sidefooted his 26th goal of the season after David Frain had cleared Ian Cranson's header off the line straight to him. But within a minute, the other No 9, the 6ft 7in Kevin Francis, equalised from close range with his own 30th goal this season.
Stoke were twice denied by goal-line clearances before their mounting pressure was rewarded in the 77th minute, when Nigel Gleghorn hooked the ball home from five yards. That was that, everyone thought, although Stein and Gannon had other ideas.
Ironically, the evening's main beneficiaries, apart from Stoke, may be their neighbours, second- placed Port Vale. Stockport remain four points behind them, having now played two matches more, while Stein's indiscretion means he will almost certainly miss the derby at Vale Park on 31 March.
Stoke City: Sinclair; Hockaday, Sandford, Cranson, Overton, Gleghorn, Foley, Russell, Stein, Shaw, Beeston. Substitutes not used: Kevan, Regis.
Stockport County: Edwards; Todd, P R Williams, Frain, Miller, Barras, Gannon, Ward, Francis, Beaumont, Preece (P A Williams, 78). Substitute not used: Finlay.
Referee: A Dawson (Jarrow).
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