STOKE CITY 3 (Higginbotham 8, Sidibe 45+3, Etherington 67)
BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 (Samba sent off 59)
STOKE CITY
Sorensen
Wilkinson Huth Shawcross Higginbotham (c)
Lawrence Whelan Whitehead Etherington
Beattie Tuncay
Substitutes: Begovic (gk), Whelan (for Delap 90), Beattie (for Sidibe 81), Pugh, Diao, Tuncay (for Fuller 78), Collins.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Robinson
Salgado Nelsen (c) Givet Olsson
Emerton Reid Andrews Pedersen
Kalinic
Substitutes: Brown (gk), Roberts, Reid (for N'Zonzi 73), Andrews (for Di Santo 60), Diouf, Hoilett, Salgado (for Chimbonda 65).
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee - Steve Bennett | Assistants - A Halliday & M Mullarkey | Fourth Official - M Jones
MINUTE-TO-MINUTE
2.45pm: Welcome to stokecityfc.com for live minute-to-minute coverage of today's game.
2.46pm: Nigel Gleghorn joins Nigel Johnson and John Acres in the commentary box for Stoke City Player today - get logged on and listening now!
2.47pm: It's Sir Stanley Matthews Day at the Britannia Stadium this afternoon. Special commemorative 100-page perfect bound matchday magazines are on sale and bucket collections for the Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation are also being held.
2.49pm: A special five minute tribute to the great man is about to be played on the big screen here.
2.55pm: All the stadium applauds following the awesome tribute video to the Wizard of the Dribble. It was very moving. Let's do it today for Sir Stan!
2.57pm: The two teams walk out onto the pitch - kick off is almost on us.
3.02pm: The first half is underway.
2 mins Rory Delap has an early opportunity to launch a long throw in into the box from the left flank. Its quite far away though, and Ryan Nelsen clears the danger.
8 mins - GOAL: City are ahead here at the Britannia Stadium and it's Danny Higginbotham!! Lawrence's inswinging corner from the left was headed away from goal at the near post by Martin Olsson, but only to Higginbotham who had dropped back into space. The skipper volleys it superbly into the back of the net. 1-0.
11 mins: Fuller does well down the right flank to win another corrner for City.
12 mins: Stoke have the ball in the back of the net again thanks to Robert Huth but referee Steve Bennett has already blown for a free kick after Fuller was deemed to have fouled Chimbonda as he headed back across goal.
14 mins: Jeers from the home crowd after Martin Olsson goes down in instalments to win a penalty. No chance of one there.
18 mins: Play restarts after Dean Whitehead has received treatment for a couple of minutes. He's back on the field now as well.
19 mins: Etherington fires a free kick over the bar after Fuller had won a foul from Nelsen.
20 mins: Di Santo heads Pedersen's left wing cross over the bar when he perhaps should have hit the target there.
22 mins Lawrence sets Sidibe free down the right and his cross into the box for Fuller is blocked for a corner by Nelsen. Good defending by Blackburn's skipper.
25 mins: Pedersen is the visitors' long throw master and he hurls one in from the right only for Higginbotham to head it clear.
27 mins: Wilkinson puts his head in where others wouldn't put in their feet to block Di Santo's volley at goal after the ball falls in the area from a throw. He's got a bloodied face but is up straight away and gets a standing ovation from the Stokies.
29 mins: He returns to the field with vaseline smeered over his head and a new pair of shorts on. Was he ever going to not return to the pitch?
32 mins: Fuller is scythed down by Pedersen and Nelsen but the referee waves play on as he believes that they won the ball. Stoke are awarded a free kick shortly after though, when Emerton brings Etherington down as he bombs through the middle of the pitch on a mazy run.
37 mins: Shawcross and Samba are both booked after tussling in the area a number of times during successive corners. There's been four in a row and they're really testing Sorensen with bodies all around the line and six yard box.
40 mins: N'Zonzi fires over the bar after Huth heads a long throw out of the six yard box. Stoke fans complain though as Lawrence is clattered into by Givet in the build up, only for it to be ignored by referee.
43 mins Wilkinson had to have further treatment to his bloody head and comes back on the pitch all bandaged up.
45 mins: The fourth official indicates a minimum of three minutes added time.
47 mins: Delap's monster long throw from the left evades Robinson's outstretched hands and falls to Whitehead but his effort is cleared off the line.
48 mins - GOAL: 2-0 to the Potters, Mama Sidibe! Another Delap throw isn't cleared and Etherington's cross back into the box goes all the way through the crowd of bodies to Sidibe who tucks it away from close range.
HALF-TIME. STOKE CITY 2 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0.
4.05pm: The second gets going with no subs being made by either side at the break.
48 mins: Today's attendance is given as 27,386.
52 mins: N'Zonzi shown a yellow card for a foul on Whitehead.
55 mins: Shawcross sees a header saved on the line by Robinson after Etherington whipped in a dangerous corner kick. That was a good save with bodies in his way.
59 mins - RED CARD: Samba is shown his second yellow card of the afternoon after tugging Ricardo Fuller back after the Jamaican had flicked the ball over his head and had begun to run away from him.
60 mins: Di Santo is replaced by Keith Andrews.
61 mins: Etherington causes yet more danger with a corner kick. This time Higginbotham rises to head the ball at goal but sees Olsson clear his effort off the line.
65 mins; Michel Salgado comes on Chimbonda.
66 mins: Another header blocked on the line from an Etherington corner. Fuller rises unmarked to divert the ball goalwards but Robinson makes the save.
67 mins - GOAL: It's 3-0 with Etherington scoring the goal that his performance has deserved. A mazy run across the front of the area is followed by a neat one-two with Lawrence before he turns the defender and slots the ball into the far corner of the net beyond the outstretched arms of Robinson. Great stuff.
73 mins: N'Zonzi is replaced by Reid as Sam Allardyce makes his last throw of the dice.
78 mins Ricardo Fuller comes off for Tuncay.
81 mins: James Beattie is on for Sidibe.
84 mins: Another corner and Higginbotham's header is stopped on the goal-line by Salgado. He could have had a hat-trick today!
90 mins: A minimum of three minutes added time is indicated by the fourth official.
90 mins; Whelan replaces Delap.
91 mins: Andrews booked for bringing down Tuncay.
92 mins; Whelan's free kick is deflected over the bar by the wall for a corner kick.
93 mins: Steve Bennett blows for full-time on a great performance this afternoon by the Potters. Another 3 goals scored, the 4th time in 5 home games in 2010, and a performance by Matthew Etherington that would make Sir Stanley Matthews proud. Next stop Wigan Athletic!
FULL-TIME. STOKE CITY 3 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0.
