So much for the Europa League being dull. Stoke City's march towards the knock-out stages of the competition continued tonight, although their emphatic victory over woeful opponents was overshadowed by two sendings-off, one of which will surely go down as the most farcical dismissal of the season.
With Cameron Jerome already off the field after picking up a second yellow card for elbowing Yoav Ziv, the Maccabi left-back decided to take out retribution of his own. Infuriated that the assistant referee, Christos Akrivos, failed to raise his flag for a foul by Ryan Shotton on the touchline that half-removed his left boot, Ziv kicked the boot in the direction of the official and it struck him on the hip.
It was a comical moment and, although Ziv attempted to persuade the Greek referee that it was accidental, thestraight red card that followed was as predictable as the outcome of the match after Kenwyne Jones, Jerome and Shotton had scored in the opening 32 minutes.
It was a case of damage limitation for Maccabi at that stage but the pattern changed when Jerome was sent off just before half-time. The striker had already been cautioned for dissent when he flung a right arm into Ziv's neck. Stoke fans reacted furiously but the referee had little option but to show a second yellow card, despite Tony Pulis's claims to the contrary. "We have to be careful in respect of competitive sport," said the Stoke manager, who had not seen replays of either dismissal. "I think sometimes there has to be common sense. Two players were sent offtonight and I didn't see a bone-crunching challenge the whole game."
Pulis was entitled to be satisfied with the result which secures Stoke's place at the top of the group. Their aerial threat caused Maccabi problems from the outset and the breakthrough came after Shotton's long throw bounced before it reached Jerome, whose header came back off the bar. The forward reacted quickest, nodding forward a second attempt that Guy Haimov saved before Sherran Yeiny headed behind. He was merely delaying the inevitable. From Dean Whitehead's corner Jones arrived unmarked to head past the stranded Haimov.
Another set piece provided Stoke's second goal. This time it was an inswinging free-kick from Matthew Etherington that Jerome, running towards the six-yard box unopposed, glanced beyond Haimov, who was again caught in no man's land.
Maccabi were in disarray and it was a measure of how easy Stoke found it to carve open their defence that Jerome was soon clean through after Marc Wilson simply headed Haimov's goal-kick upfield. He skipped round the keeper and squared for Shotton to shoot home.
Then came Jerome's reckless elbow on Ziv before the full-back upstaged him with his own moment of madness. "Jerome punched me in the neck, I wasn't cheating but the crowd went a bit crazy," said Ziv. "With the boot it was an accident. It was just unlucky."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/oct/20/stoke-city-maccabi-tel-aviv-europa-league
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