The Potters headed to the capital, fresh off the back of a 1-0 win over Watford at the bet365 Stadium, and they were about to face a Millwall side whose fans were on their manager's back after a dismal showing at Carrow Road in their previous match.
The Potters entered the field to the reception at The Den with London Calling blasting through the speakers, a familiar sound to the Millwall faithful as they created their wall of noise to welcome their players back home, as they went in search of their first home win of the season.
Stoke started the game brightly in spells as they attempted to get a foothold on play, however, after the first ten minutes had been played, Millwall began to grow in spirit and confidence whilst be urged on by the SE16 loyal. This urgency and pressure forced Potters keeper Mark Travers into some smart saves which were appreciated by The Potters travelling contingent as they sung his name.
The Lions made the breakthrough in the 38th minute as Stoke couldn't deal with a long throw from the right hand side, with the ball bouncing kindly for Kevin Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.
This gave the home crowd something to shout about and most importantly the home manager, something to smile about as he was on his way to another win over his former side, after he left in 2019.
Alex Neil recognised that something need to change and as a result, he made a quadruple change at Half Time with Ben Pearson, Wouter Burger, Mehdi Leris & Tyrese Campbell replacing Jordan Thompson, Ki-Jana Hoever, Josh Tymon & Josh Laurent.
The substitutions were effective as Stoke took the game to the hosts as they dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened. Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Leris shot just over in a scramble. This level of pressure continued as Andre Vidigal weaved his way out of danger and shot over from 30 yards out.
As the time ticked away, Stoke put together a series of good moves to pile pressure on the home team, as Gary Rowett watched on nervously - and as a last chance saloon, Mark Travers headed up to join the attack but was unable to pull off any heroics.
Stoke left the capital with nothing, which has been an all but familiar feeling in recent years, as Gary Rowett continues his hold over his old side, having won six out of nine encounters since leaving the Potters in 2019.
Manager Reaction:
"I'm not in the habit of taking four players off at any one time ever, but I felt as if I needed to impact the game in a positive manner. In the second half, we were excellent and deserved to get something from the match. I thought the chances we had second half, you could argue we should have won it really.
I was concerned how quickly the new players will bed in, how quickly can they adapt, but on the evidence of the second half, I think the answer was there. So when you say 'stutter', the first half was disappointing, the result is disappointing but the second half there were hugely encouraging bits."
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