TWO-HOT JODY AHEAD ON POINTS

IT looked as if Ricky Hatton had given the team talk in the Wolves dressing-room at half-time.

The Black Countrymen were left floored and flat on the deck by a first half onslaught of heavyweight proportions by Stoke.

Hatton was in town to promote his brother Matthew's world welterweight title fight later this month. And he would have been proud of the way Wolves picked themselves up, shook themselves off and launched into an unexpected comeback.

The former world champion wore a Stoke shirt during a kick-about on the pitch. But somehow his unique powers of recovery transmitted themselves to the Wolves team.

And in the end it was the Potters who were on the ropes, hanging on for a point, when for 45 minutes they had looked sure winners.

Boss Tony Pulis was not happy that his men had fallen to two sucker-punches from Wolves defender Jody Craddock - both from set-pieces of the kind which have become Stoke specialities.

Hatton would have been impressed by the one-two combination which left Wolves flat on their backsides in the first half.

But Stoke showed they could use the scalpel as well as the sledgehammer when they opened the scoring after 15 minutes.

After collecting keeper Thomas Sorensen's swift throw out, Matthew Etherington galloped more than half the length of the field below delivering a low centre across the Wolves six-yard box.

James Beattie thought he was getting a simple tap-in but defender George Elokobi beat him to it, diverting the ball into his own net.

Stoke's second goal was more typical.

Rory Delap seemed to spend most of the opening 45 minutes using a red towel to clean the ball for his long throws. Each time it spelled danger for Wolves and in the 43rd minute it was a spear through the heart of their defence.

Christophe Berra could only head it to the unmarked Etherington, whose volley was struck sweetly past Wayne Hennessey.

Battered

During the pulverizing Stoke bombardment Hennessey made a fine save from Beattie's soaring far- post header as Wolves cowered under the weight of the attacks.

They were running for cover until the interval. But whatever then went on in the confines of the visitors' dressing-room worked wonders.

The battered and bruised spirits of Mick McCarthy's men were soothed and healed and they came out with their heads up.

HATTON: In a Stoke shirt

They also appeared with Nenad Milijas as a replacement for the ineffective Segundo Castillo. And the magical left foot of the substitute cut the Stoke defence to ribbons. The Serbian international's first touch sent a free-kick into the penalty box, where Craddock was unmarked beyond the far post to divert it into the net.

And 17 minutes later Craddock made it a special return to the ground where he had a spell on loan two seasons ago.

His header from Milijas' corner flew past Sorensen and suddenly Wolves began to believe they could win it.

They pressed forward but the best chance of the closing stages went to Stoke sub Mamady Sidibe, who ballooned his header over the bar from six yards.

A winner for Stoke then would have been cruel justice on Wolves - though Pulis and his players can only have seen the draw as two points squandered.

A victory for Stoke would have lifted them alongside Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa and suddenly the top six would have loomed into view.

The rest of Europe will be trembling at the thought of a raucous bout with the heavyweights from the Potteries.

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