Stoke City and Manchester City have played out a goalless first half of football at the Britannia.
It was the away side who secured early control of the match, but it was Jonathan Walters of Stoke who tested the palms of Joe Hart with ten minutes on the clock.
Cameron Jerome was next to go close for Stoke, but he just could not make contact after a smart header from Peter Crouch.
The match was being played at a surprisingly low tempo as the 20-minute mark approached, with Manchester City looking dangerous on the outskirts of the home side's box.
Edin Dzeko headed City's best chance of the half over the bar after 33 minutes, with Stoke defending well.
The Potters ended the first period well, however, and they so nearly opened the scoring with a Ryan Shawcross header after 40 minutes, but Pablo Zabaleta cleared the danger.
