York City boss Martin Foyle was stunned by the scud throw-ins of Stoke City midfielder Rory Delap in yesterday's 3-1 FA Cup defeat.

With his side having gone 1-0 down in the first half after Neil Barrett's shock opener at the Britannia Stadium, Delap turned the game on its head within three minutes by launching two missiles into the York box which both resulted in goals.

The unfortunate Danny Parslow could only deflect the first past his goalkeeper Michael Ingham and Ricardo Fuller headed home to make it 2-1 a minute later after Delap's throw had caused chaos once again.

Matthew Etherington sealed the Potters' passage into round four with a deliciously curled free-kick after the break, but it was Delap's trademark deliveries that continued to terrorise the York defence throughout the 90 minutes.

Foyle could only admire Stoke's less-than-secret weapon, and believes it could be decisive in maintaining the Potters' Barclays Premier League status this season.

"It's a fantastic asset and I think it's contributed to a lot of Stoke's goals over last season and this season," Foyle said. "We defended them very well in training but on the day, the trajectory of it is absolutely frightening.

"It's high, low, left, right and it's a missile that could keep Stoke in the Premier League again."

Asked how his players could simulate the Delap throw-in in training, Foyle said: "They can when they are 10 yards off the touchline and it's an over-arm throw with one arm!

"A lot of teams think, how can you actually defend it?

"I've seen a lot of teams kick good balls out for corners - our lads said it was actually easier to defend corners."