Stoke 0-0 Newcastle 06/01/2008

Stoke 0-0 Newcastle

Highlights: Click Here

Stoke City forced an FA Cup third-round replay against Premiership Newcastle after an absorbing draw.

The game lacked quality and only came to life in the second period with the Potters unlucky not to have taken the lead through substitute Jon Parkin.

But for Steven Taylor's heroic block on the goal-line, the lofty striker would have scored with his first touch.

Stoke survived a goal scramble after Taylor had hit the post and now travel to St James' Park a week on Wednesday.

A voracious home support, the presence of the BBC television cameras and facing a side packed with strapping six-footers would have had Sam Allardyce and his players fearing another Cup upset.

But the Magpies, beaten in their last three matches, hung on with some heroic defending and denied the hosts a deserved victory.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the first-half chances with Mark Viduka firing straight at Steve Simonsen from the edge of the box and Charles N'Zogbia stinging the hands of the Geordie-born keeper with a rasping drive from 20 yards.

Michael Owen, making his first FA Cup appearance in a black and white shirt, failed to take advantage of Ryan Shawcross' error, fluffing his lifted shot from close range.

Abdoulaye Faye and Taylor coped admirably with the sizeable threats of Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller.

But despite controlling possession, they seldom pressed home their superiority and were again short of invention and creativity.

Stoke, too, squandered possession and took until the 44th minute to muster a decent chance.

Liam Lawrence placed a 25-yard free-kick a yard wide of the post with Shay Given scrambling to his left.

The Potters, full of running and passion, pressed in the second half with the inspired introduction of Parkin almost reaping immediate rewards.

With his first touch, the centre forward almost broke the deadlock with a low placed effort after fine work from Fuller.

From the resulting corner Parkin again made a nuisance of himself, presenting a half chance for Richard Cresswell who should have made better contact with his acrobatic flick.

Taylor then blocked Fuller's long-range drive as the home side sensed a winner in the lashing rain.

Newcastle could have stolen a win at the death but Andrew Carroll's stretched shot deflected into the side netting.