Stoke bring City down to earth

LONDON: Manchester City’s hopes of turning petrodollars into silverware this season were crushed when Stoke ended their interest in the FA Cup with a 3-1 extra-time win in a fifth round replay.

Goals from Ryan Shawcross and Tuncay Sanli sealed Stoke’s win after Craig Bellamy had forced the tie into extra-time, two minutes after substitute Dave Kitson had given the home side a 79th-minute lead. City also had Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor sent-off three minutes before the final whistle in normal time.

While Stoke can look forward to a quarter-final trip to Chelsea, Mancini was left to contemplate what was City’s fourth defeat in 15 matches under the Italian’s stewardship. While City suffered a difficult evening, two of their rivals for fourth spot in the Premier League, Tottenham and Aston Villa, kept their Cup hopes alive by easing into the last eight.

Spurs sauntered to a 4-0 win over Bolton while Villa beat Crystal Palace 3-1 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Reading, who defeated West Brom 3-2 in extra time.