Swansea, Stoke share points in 6-goal thriller

Swansea and Stoke were both left frustrated after a dramatic 3-3 Premier League draw at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. It seemed Stoke were on the verge of ending their seven-match winless run when goals from Jonathan Walters and Stephen Ireland put the visitors 2-0 up inside half an hour in south Wales. But the second half saw Swansea bounce back after both Wilfried Bony and Nathan Dyer scored. And when Bony made it 3-2 just four minutes from time, it seemed Swansea had completed a remarkable come from behind victory. But the Swans, who let slip leads in both their Europa League meetings with Kuban Krasnodar, again failed to close out the win when referee Robert Madley, controversially, decided Wayne Routledge had handled a Ryan Shawcross header and Charlie Adam scored from the ensuing stoppage-time penalty. It took Mark Hughes's Stoke just eight minutes to break the deadlock, with Swansea's Ben Davies and Chico Flores getting in each other's way to allow Walters to finish following a Peter Crouch flick-on. And they were 2-0 up when two excellent passes from Walters and Crouch set up Ireland. However, it was a different story in the second half as Swansea rediscovered their touch. The home side's recovery started in the 56th minute when, after Stoke had failed to clear a corner, Jonathan de Guzman's header found Bony, with the Ivorian powering in a close-range header. Swansea were on a roll and their persistent pressure told once more when Routledge surged past Geoff Cameron to the byline. Walters managed a headed clearance but the ball fell invitingly to Dyer, with the substitute striking an excellent volley which went in via a slight deflection. As the game reached its climax, players on both sides lost their cool and Swansea's Angel Rangel was fortunate to avoid being sent off after slapping Crouch in the midst of a touchline flare-up. Bony then struck what appeared to be the winning goal, following a pull-back from Jonjo Shelvey, only for Scotland international Adam to rescue a point for Stoke, who climbed out of the bottom three on goal difference on the back of this result, with Swansea just two points above the relegation zone. Source: AFP