by Martin Spinks

THOMAS Sorensen was seeing stars in the second half at Wigan – stars like Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt to be precise.

It was very nearly Anfield all over again in the second 45 minutes on Saturday as Stoke were forced to defend with the kind of gusto they so memorably produced in their goalless draw at Liverpool in September.

And there was no better view than Sorensen's front row seat for what was only his third clean sheet in a dozen league games to date.

"It felt a bit like the Liverpool game in the second half," the great Dane conceded, "but everyone defended heroically and got their blocks in. And there was a bit of luck as well."

Sorensen stood tall with several fine saves to support a defence – and a midfield come to think of it – defending manfully in and around their own area for much of the second period.

At times, in fact, the biggest danger for Sorensen was being left unsighted by so many yellow-shirted Stoke players between him and the ball.

"Yes, and sometimes you know a small deflection or someone not picking up his man will cost you when so many balls are coming into your box.

"They did have a few headers, but luckily for us they put them over the bar. It only takes a little slip for them to score, but we didn't give them that."

Sorensen's one moment of genuine discomfort, it seemed, came late on when one of several strikes from Jason Koumas appeared to swerve before the Stoke keeper beat it away near his right-hand post.

"I only saw it late," he confessed afterwards. "It was going to my right, then came to my left. Luckily I saw it just in time and was able to make the save. Sometimes you are not so lucky and do not see it until it is too late."

Sorensen's only criticism was of his side's increasingly frail attempts to launch any serious assault at the other end of the field to not only try and score, but merely to ease the pressure on his goal during that one-sided second half.

"Going forward we were non-existent in the second half," he admitted, "and that part of our game has to improve. If we play like this at United next Saturday and cannot keep the ball for more than 10 seconds, then they are going to score."

Sorensen also tried to clear up any confusion about his remarks seven days earlier when he was quoted as describing Arsenal as spineless – helping provoke Arsene Wenger's subsequent allegations about Stoke players intentionally trying to injure his.

"The only thing I said," he explained, "was that in that game they lacked something you normally expect from Arsenal. They didn't look to be ready for the challenges.

"I never said they were soft as a team or lacking courage."

Maybe something was also lost in translation, immaculate though his English is, as the word spineless clearly carries more significance in our mother tongue than his.