Pope gets his wish with goal at Etihad

Jan 06, 2020 06:00 am

Watching John Stones make errors while playing for England in the Nations League Finals last June, Port Vale striker Tom Pope took to Twitter to say he'd "love to play every week" against the Manchester City centre back.

Well, he got his wish and scored for fourth-tier Port Vale in their 4-1 defeat by City in the third round yesterday morning (Singapore time), although he wasn't being marked by Stones when heading in a shock equaliser at Etihad Stadium to cancel out Oleksandr Zinchenko's deflected opener.

"I never dreamed I would score," said the 34-year-old, whose goal sparked wild scenes of celebration among the 8,000 visiting fans.

But the gulf in class soon showed as City responded with goals by Sergio Aguero, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Phil Foden to begin their title defence on a winning note.

Despite the defeat, the occasion was certainly one to remember for Pope, who wrote on Twitter after the game: "Sorry I can't reply to everyone it's gone mental!

"I'd just like to say I was completely wrong and bang out of order to say I'd score 40 a season... it's more like 50... enjoy your weekend." - AP, REUTERS