Stoke deny Liverpool at the death

Robert Huth scored a dramatic late equaliser for Stoke City as Liverpool let another two points slip in a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos's first Premier League goal had looked to have given Rafael Benitez's side a valuable third successive Premier League victory but they were undone in the final minute in much the same way as they were against Reading in the FA Cup in mid-week.

After Huth's goal there was still time for Dirk Kuyt to plant a point blank header off the post in the sixth minute of stoppage time, before the referee finally blew for full-time.

The result means that Liverpool have now dropped more points this campaign than in the entirety of last season.

The late dramatics were a far cry from the rest of the match which was poor, with there only being one attempt on target in the entire match apart from the two goals.

Liverpool were missing a host of first team stars - most notably Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - and put out a team that looked to scrap to a 1-0 victory.

Stoke started the better though and the Reds had a scary moment when Pepe Reina flapped at one of Rory Delap's famous long throws.

However, Stoke then suffered a double blow when Delap and Abdoulaye Faye were both forced off injured within a couple of minutes of each other.

Stoke would have countless long throws before the end of the match but Salif Diao's deliveries, while decent, were not of the same quality as Delap's.

The most significant moment of the first half came in the 25th minute when Danny Higginbottom chopped down Lucas in the box after the Brazilian had linked up well with Philipp Degen.

It looked a clear penalty but not only was it not giving, but referee Lee Mason, who officiated Liverpool's defeats at Fulham and Portsmouth already this season, not only waved away the appeals but also booked Lucas for diving.

Liverpool looked the better side for most of the first-half but then Stoke started the second-half brightly.

However, Liverpool took the lead against the run of play in the 57th minute from a free-kick down the right.

The finger of blame for the goal must point at Thomas Sørensen who could only pat Fabio Aurelio's free-kick into a crowd of players with Kyrgiakos finally bundling the ball into the net.

Liverpool then tried to shut up shop and close out the game and with Kyrgiakos and Reina dealing with most of the long balls it looked like they were going to be successful until Dean Whitehead headed a corner across to Huth who slide in from close range for the late equaliser. 

Kuyt really should have put Emiliano Insua's great late cross in for a dramatic winner but Liverpool's luck continues to desert them.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.