Mancini rues late lapse

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was disappointed after his side threw away a chance to beat Stoke City on Saturday.

Just six days after their superb 4-1 away triumph at Fulham, City looked good for another win after a terrific strike from Micah Richards gave them an 81st minute lead.

But beating Stoke at the Britania Stadium is never easy and a clever assist from Tuncay Sanli set up Matthew Etherington to strike a dramatic injury-time equaliser for Stoke.

“I am disappointed with the result because we deserved to win,” Mancini said afterwards.

“The season is very long. Every game for every team is difficult. This was a good test for us on a difficult pitch.”

The Italian reserved special praise for Richards who played through the pain barrier and was also pleased with striker Mario Balotelli’s new-found temperament after his return from a three-match ban.

“Richards scored a good goal, he was not 100% but played well and I am happy for him,” he said.

“Mario has only played three games in the league and had two or three chances. We know he will continue to improve.”

“He did well, he did not talk to the referee and that is important.”

Stoke manager Tony Pulis could not have disagreed more with Mancini’s assessment of who dominated the game, as he was delighted with his side gaining a late point.

“What game was he watching? But he is entitled to his opinion. That is what this country is all about,” Pulis said.

“I will leave it to the experts to decide. When you are on top against one of the best teams in the league you have to take your chances.”

“That was the one thing that let us down today. We need to do better in that respect.”