STOKE CITY 1 (Diao 33)
HAPOEL TEL AVIV 1 (Da Silva 51)

City wrapped up their pre-season tour of Austria with a creditable draw against Europa League hopefuls Hapoel Tel Aviv in Leoben on Tuesday night.

A wonder strike from Salif Diao, his first for the club, put the Potters in front mid way through the first half before the Israeli Premier League runners up levelled matters six minutes into the second period.

Ahead of the game manager Tony Pulis named an extremely strong line up with the likes of Abdoulaye Faye, Matthew Etherington, Liam Lawrence and James Beattie all starting. However, a back strain ruled Thomas Sorensen out of the clash whilst Andy Wilkinson was also absent with a shoulder injury.

A surreal moment was witnessed just minutes before kick off as City were forced to swap their famous red and white jerseys for an unfamiliar green one after the referee deemed the two clubs strips to similar. Tel Aviv won the toss to decide who would wear what, meaning the Potters were dressed in Leoben's home shirt.

The Israeli side who kick off their European campaign in Gothenburg in just nine days time struggled to contain the Potters during the early exchanges; in fact Tony Pulis' side at times really took the game to the Israeli's with a string of attacking play down both flanks.

Diao and Whelan looked comfortable in the middle, whilst the pace and skill of both Lawrence and Etherington on the flanks caused the Israeli's no end of problems.

Steve Simonsen, who played the full 90 minutes after Sorensen's withdrawal, was rarely troubled during the first 45 minutes. In fact he was only tested twice, and both efforts were from range after the Potters backline coped with Tel Aviv's strikers amicably.

A much improved performance from the Potters warranted a well deserved first half lead which came through Diao just after the half hour mark.

The former Liverpool man, donning a shirt strikingly similar to that of his native Senegal's, launched an audacious effort from just inside Tel Aviv's half which brushed the underneath of the crossbar before nestling in the back of the net, leaving goalkeeper Victor stranded.

The Potters, who looked far fitter and much more organised than they did during last Friday's 2-0 defeat against German second tier side St. Pauli, could have seen their dominance earn them a two goal cushion shortly after.

James Beattie showed his natural striking ability by firing a superb half volley towards goal from the acutest of angles which the Israeli keeper reacted brilliantly to deny the former England man.

Neither side made any changes during the interval, but barely three minutes had elapsed by the time both managers decided to switch things around as they looked to utilise the match to build up the fitness of their entire squad.

The likes of Dave Kitson, Richard Cresswell and Michael Tonge came on for the Potters, whilst youngsters Ryan Shotton and Nathaniel Wedderburn also got useful run outs.

The changes somewhat disrupted the flow and quality of the game, and really out of nothing Tel Aviv levelled the scoreline thanks to Brazilian Da Silva. The midfielder picked up the ball 30-yards out, before taking a touch and firing an effort into the bottom right hand corner, leaving Simonsen with no chance.

More substitutions followed for both sides, and chances were few and far between. The closest the Potters came was in the 68th minute when a dangerous Dave Kitson centre was cleared from under the nose of Cresswell, who looked ready to pounce and make it 2-1.

The Israeli side could have snatched a win late on after the lively Da Silva evaded substitutes Leon Cort and Ibrahima Sonko in the 6-yard box, but with just the keeper to beat he powered a header well wide of the right hand post.