Live Commentary

Last Updated at 1:58 pm, February 19th 2012

1. A very professional performance from Stoke in what was very much a potential banana skin of a tie. They played with 10 men for most of the game, but to their credit you would never have known. Crawley has their moments in a well-contested game, but ultimately lacked the quality in the final third to seriously test their Premier League rivals.

2. 90+3

   Replays would suggest Collins may have got away with one there, it clearly struck him on the arm.

3. 90+2

   Barnett tries his luck from 20 yards but it's wide.

4. 90+1

   Collins clears off the line from Barnett's shot and it looks like a handball but nothing is given.

5. 90

   We will have a minimum of three minutes added time.

6. 89

   Watt's powerful runs at the heart of the Stoe defence sees him lay the ball off to Torres who shoots from 25 yards but it's wide. That could be Crawley's last chance.

7. 88

   It's still Crawley pouring forward but Watt fouls Shotton and Stoke will take their time over this free kick.

8. 87

   McFadzean looks to find Neilson in the box but Begovic clears his lines.

9. 86

   Great touch by Crouch sees him turn past McFadzean but he elects to shoot from 25 yards and it's horrible ... high and wide!

10. 85

    Crawley are incensed that a free kick goes against them as the tackles start to fly in once again.

11. 84

    Walters and Neilson tussle for the bal by the corner flag and assistant Sian Massey is almost sent flying, but pulls off a neat body swerve to avoid a collision!

12. 83

    Stoke change sees defender Andy Wilkinson on for striker Jerome.

13. 82

    Howell drives the ball in from 25 yards but it is blocked by Shotton as Crawley continue to press.

14. 81

    Stoke clear the first and Begovic misses the second before they finally do get it clear.

15. 80

    Good work by Neilson down the Crawley rights sees his cross come off Collins and hit the top of the bar before a corner is awarded.

16. 79

    Whelan plays it in but it is poor and Crawley clear with ease.

17. 78

    Mills is penalised for a foul on Crouch and Stoke have a free kick 40 yards out.

18. 77

    Good run by Watt across the box sees him lay it off to McFadzean whose first-time low cross goes across the face of goal and is too strong for Neilson at the far post.

19. 76

    Crawley will be encouraged by the fact that they have created several chances, but so far there has been nothing clear-cut.

20. 75

    Stoke have the ball in the net after Crouch and Walters combine to play in Jerome, but he is caught offside.

21. 74

    Collins is dispossessed by Neilson inside the Crawley and he powers forward before playing the ball out wide to Watt who cuts inside and drives in a low shot that is saved by Begovic.

22. 73

    Crawley are flagged offside and there is chance for Stoke to regroup and lose some seconds off the clock.

23. 72

    Watt lets fly from 20 yards and his stinging drive is just over.

24. 71

    Torres tries to play in Barnett but this time it is Shotton who gets in a vital block.

25. 70

    Shawcross rises highest to head clear and certainly he has caught the eye in the Stoke defence.

26. 69

    Good action at both ends and I would say we're going to get at least another goal.

27. 68

    Let-off for Crawley at the other end as a Stoke free kick falls to Walters eight-yard out, but his shot is parried by keeper Rene Gilmartin who then punches clear as the rebound loops up.

28. 67

    Howell hits it low and through the Stoke wall as it jumps, but he scuffs it and Begovic is able to make a comfortable save.

29. 66

    Crawley work it well and Simpson's low cross just fails to fall to Barnett, who is then fouled 25 yards out by Shotton.

30. 65

    Howell's cross causes some panic in the Stoke box and it falls to Barnett, whose shot is deflected off Shawcross and wide for a corner.

31. 64

    Neislon tries to get on the end of a Torres pass, but Shawcross calmly heads the ball back to his keeper.

32. 63

    A Crawley goal would certainly set us up here for a grandstand finsih, but Stoke's 10 men are working very hard to keep them out.

33. 62

    Shotton launches the ball into the box but Whitehead is penalised for a foul.

34. 61

    Torres overhits a pass to Howell and Stoke have a throw which relieves some of the pressure that had been building.

35. 60

    It's taken short to Neilson who opts to shoot and it's high, wide and not very handsome I'm afraid!

36. 59

    Crawley hit back with McFadzean flicking on Howell's cross and Neilson's pull back put out by Shawcross for a corner.

37. 58

    Stoke corner and Whelan's kick flies across the face of goal with Shotton and Crouch just failing to get what would have been decisive touches from close range.

38. 57

    Crawley are shading possession but to be fair Stoke keeper Begovic has not been forced to make many saves.

39. 56

    Good, positive response from Crawley and there is still plenty of life left in this game.

40. 55

    Jerome is booked for kicking the ball away.

41. 54

    Howell plays in a deep cross with Torres having a shot blocked inside the area before the ball breaks to Simpson who rifles the ball over from the edge of the box.

42. 53

    Great noise now from the travelling Stoke fans, with their team now having a two-goal cushion despite being a player down.

43. 52

    GOAL! Whelan clips the resulting free-kick to the far post where Crouch rises highest and heads the ball into the far corner from six yards.

44. 51

    Crawley defender Davis is booked for a foul on Jerome.

45. 50

    Neilson swings the ball over but it hangs up in the wind and Begovic makes a clean catch.

46. 49

    Stoke are guilty of giving the ball away twice in the centre circle and Crawley force a corner.

47. 48

    Early change for Crawley with Scott Neilson on for Hunt, the man on the receiving end of Delap's red card challenge.

48. 47

    Crawley go back on the attack but Bulman's deep cross is well taken by Begovic, who then becoemes the villain as his punt downfield goes out.

49. 46

    Stoke get the second half started and it's as you were as far as line-ups go.

50. 45+3

    The hosts force a corner and Stoke get it away as the whistle is blown on what has been a very lively opening period.

51. 45+2

    Crawley look to break but Torres is felled by Shotton who is booked.

52. 45+1

    Stoke finish the half strongly as Torres concedes a corner, but Crawley get it clear.

53. 44

    We will have a minimum of three minutes of added time.

54. 43

    Steve Evans looks as though he is seething on the touchline. He will certainly feel aggrieved his side are behind.

55. 42

    No doubt about the penalty in my view and Stoke will be delighted to have something to hold on to after being under the cosh for long periods, before and after Delap's dismissal.

56. 41

    GOAL! Walters rifles the ball in low and the 10-men have the lead.

57. 40

    Shawcross is brought down by McFadzean as he tries to turn in the box and a penalty is given, with few Crawley protests.

58. 39

    More on the Delap red card ... it seems referee Mike Jones was not going to give a free kick but was advised on the challenge by fourth official Lee Probert.

59. 38

    Barnett breaks for Crawley but his shot from 20 yards lacks power and rolls well wide.

60. 37

    Walters tries to pick out the run of Jerome, but Mills reads the situation and clears.

61. 36

    Jerome trips McFadzean and concedes a free kick midway in the Stoke half, but Crouch is calm and heads the set piece back to his keeper.

62. 35

    Collins is spoken to by the referee for a strong challenge on Hunt who succeeds in ushering the ball out for a goalkick.

63. 34

    Crouch then rises for a Begovic punt downfield but is penalised for handball, much to his disgust.

64. 33

    Crouch battles for the ball by the corner flag and there is a bout iof head tennis before Crawley get a goalkick.

65. 32

    Begovic earns the jeers of the home fans for taking plenty of time over the resulting goalkick. Would Stoke take a replay at this point?

66. 31

    Crawley go forward and the ball breaks to Sanchez Watt who blasts high and wide from 25 yards.

67. 30

    A brief lull in play, probably the first one we've had to be fair.

68. 29

    Stoke counter with Crouch heading the ball down for Walters, who then lays it off to Jerome whose drags his shot wide.

69. 28

    Decent build-up by Crawlery sees Bulman lay the ball back to McFadzean whose low 25-yard shot is saved.

70. 27

    Stoke have probably had the batter of things since the sending off, but it will be interesting to see how their legs cope having played on Thursday night against Valencia.

71. 26

    Good spell for Stoke sees another terrific cross, thsi time by Shotton, have the Crawley rearguard at full stretch but they get it clear.

72. 25

    Whelan then whips in a dangerous cross, but Howell heads clear at the near post.

73. 24

    Crouch is this tiome the offender as he fouls Howell, but then looks to make amends as they win it back by releasing Walters, but McFadzean reads the danger and clears.

74. 23

    Ball played into the box but the offside flag is raised.

75. 22

    Free kick to Stoke after a foul on Crouch near the halfway line.

76. 21

    More pressure for Stoke to deal with and they dod get the ball clear, but only as far as McFadzean who fires over from 20 yards.

77. 20

    Another Crawley free kick, this time taken by Hunt, and Shawcross heads behind for a corner.

78. 19

    Mills floats the resulting free-kick into a crowded Stoke box but it is cleared.

79. 18

    Well that sets up now for a rip-roaring encounter, with Pulis still fuming on the touchline.

80. 17

    Hunt needs treatment and replays would suggest it's a harsh decision on Delap ... but letter of the law seems to be vogue these days.

81. 16

    The Stoke players protest as does Pulis, but the referee is not going to change his mind.

82. 15

    Huge moment as Delap is shown a straight red card as he went in studs up on Hunt, but in fairness he did play the ball.

83. 14

    Walters is then bundled over off the ball as Jerome breaks, so when his cross comes in there is no Stoke player to get on the end of it.

84. 13

    Torres dinks the ball to the edge of the box and Barnett chests it down and appears to be pushed by Upson but it's play on.

85. 12

    The Potters are happy to have some possession at this stage, but Cameron Jerome is unable to get on the end of Delap's through ball.

86. 11

    Walters is limping and that is a worry for Stoke. I'll keep an eye on that ...

87. 10

    Very good start to this cup tie and we have a great atmosphere to match.

88. 9

    Stoke have barley been out of their own half so far but Walters is allowed to turn on the edge of the Crawley box and rifles a low shot just wide of the far post.

89. 8

    Huge let-off for Stoke in the opening stages and their defence looks all over the place at set pieces.

90. 7

    Long throw from Delap for |Stoke and Crouch heads wide ... this time at the right end!

91. 6

    Ryan Shawcross is forced to concede a corner as Crawley put another attack together. Peter Crouch almost concedes an own goal as keeper Begovic misses the ball and Crouch can't het out the way and the ball strikes the underside of the crossbar before being scrambled away.

92. 5

    It's all Crawley pressure so far and they will have been delighted to have started on the front foot.

93. 4

    Another corner to the League Two side but Kyle McFadzean heads well wide.

94. 3

    Fast start with tackles flying in and Crawley force a corner which is headed clear by Ryan Shotton.

95. 2

    Tyrone Barnett looks to get on the end of a Sergio Torres forward pass but it goes out for a goalkick.

96. 1

    A warm embrace between the rival managers, Steve Evans and Tony Pulis, and its's Crawey who get us under way.

97. Kieran McCardle says: "After losing 3-0 at Swindon and looking on that as our worst performace of the season, as a Crawley fan I firmly feel that Stoke cannot take us lightly today the ultimate bet is for the Premier League side is to give us a good drumming but not always the case. All you Potters fans that think its going to be a walk in the park, think again - you're at the home of the Broadfield today and the atmosphere will be electric. Come on Crawley 2-1 - Tyrone Barnett to score!!"

98. Paul Hastie from Hull says: "Hi Paul here from Tunisia (work), waiting eagerly to see how Crawley perform after beating my team Hull City the other week. If Crawley start the game against stoke with the commitment they showed against us it will be a thrilling tie. I can see Crawley carrying on their cup run. Mite be worth a flutter at 11/4!"

99. "As an ex Crawley boy, living in Oz. Good luck to the Reds, Crawley could force a draw out of this," says Stuart Newton.

100. H Hanson says: "I am hoping for a Stoke win today. However, a few things concern me, our poor recent form and our lack of goals. Hopefully we can turn this around but it wont be easy, Crawley have nothing to lose and will be up for it. My prediction is a narrow 2-1 win for Stoke, Crouch getting both."

101. Our colleagues at Sky Bet make Stoke evens, Crawley 11/4 and the draw is 12/5.

102. The teams are as follows - Crawley Town: Gilmartin, Howell, Mills, Davis, Hunt, Torres, Bulman, McFadzean, Simpson, Barnett, Watt. Subs: Kuipers, Akpan, Wilson, Akinde, Wassmer, Neilson, Wickham. Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Collins, Shawcross, Upson, Delap, Whitehead, Whelan, Walters, Crouch, Jerome. Subs: Nash, Jones, Fuller, Wilson, Diao, Etherington, Wilkinson. Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)

103. Stoke name a strong-looking side for today's FA Cup fifth-round tie with Crawley. Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome start in attack for the Potters, who make six changes to the side that suffered a Europa League defeat to Valencia on Thursday. The hosts, the lowest ranked side left in the competition, hand on-loan Watford goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin his debut at Broadfield Stadium and he is one of two alterations to the side that lost 3-0 to Swindon, with the cup-tied Billy Clarke replaced by Josh Simpson.

104. Good morning (not often I have to say that in a commentary intro!) and welcome to our coverage of today's FA Cup fifth round clash between League Two Crawley Town, who will be looking to cause a major upset, against Stoke City from the Premier League. Team news to follow and, as always, we welcome your views so send them to simon.crawford@bskyb.com and I'll publish the best ones.