Stoke City took on promotion chasing Ipswich Town today in an interesting game that ended goalless. This result means that Steven Schumacher is unbeaten in all four games he has managed for Stoke and it stretches their unbeaten run to six games.
As for the travelling team, The Tractor Boys had a flying start to the Championship campaign but seemed to have slipped off the boom in their past few games as they’re now winless in six.
Stoke started the game aggressively as they controlled the majority of the possession and created a few shooting chances for themselves from various angles. For example, in the fifth minute of the game Lewis Baker was denied, having his goal-bound shot saved after letting rip outside of the box.
Stoke continued to threaten the Ipswich goal as Ryan Mmaee nearly caught Hladky napping as he fired a pot shot volley towards goal after a headed pass from Andre Vidigal. The travelling side took a bit of time to find their mojo but they started to create more chances for themselves towards the end of the first half as Connor Chaplin was denied by Jack Bonham who dived low to his right to deny Chaplin’s goal bound effort.
The second half held a different story to the first as Stoke seemed to had ran out of legs and couldn’t keep up with Ipswich’s pace. The Tractor boys were very strong in possession and viewers could see why they’re so high in the table as they played with a certain sense of confidence. The major talking point in the game occurred in the sixty seventh minute as Potters midfielder Jordan Thompson was shown a second yellow for an unknown reason much to the confusion of the home fans. We later learn from Steven Schumacher that Thompson apparently asked the ref to book the offending player which got him dismissed from the game.
Stoke had to dig deep to hold out for a point as they went down to ten men and battled for a point against an aggressive Ipswich side. Stoke were being hit with a bombardment of Ipswich shots, however, they stuck the game out and earned a point against a top side.
Steven Schumacher suggested it was an unnecessary dismissal for Jordan Thompson as the Stoke City player stood accused of waving an imaginary card. “I just felt it was a little bit unnecessary,” said the head coach. “I think it wasn't a clear and obvious one. The referee is saying that Jordan's waved an imaginary card. I didn't see that. I think Jordan put his hands up but that's what he’s said he’s seen. I asked the fourth official if he’d seen it and he said no. Not many people in the stadium have seen it. I just felt it was a little bit unnecessary and, if anything, spoiled the game a little bit.”
Schumacher added: “I didn't think (it was a malicious match). Even Jordan's first yellow card was the first tackle of the game and just a coming together. I don't know whether that was even worthy of a yellow card and I'll probably have to watch it back.
“I just felt, unfortunately, it spoiled our attacking flow and, from a neutral’s point of view, spoiled the game. But credit to the players. They stuck in, didn’t let it affect them and worked hard to keep the door shut and keep Ipswich out. It was a deserved point in the end.”
The Potters return home on Saturday to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup 3rd Ro
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