Stoke’s short FA cup journey came to an end on Saturday as Premier League side Brighton travelled up to The Potteries. De Zerbi’s side currently sit seventh in the Premier League whilst Schumacher’s Stoke sit nineteenth in the Championship.
Stoke came into the game being six games unbeaten and improvements in performances in the league therefore today’s game was a chance for them to prove themselves against Premier League opposition.
Stoke started the first half brightly as they were clearly trying to take the game to Brighton with positive attacking play. Despite starting well, Stoke came close to going 1-0 down in the tenth minute as young Brazilian striker Joao Pedro looped a shot from outside the box which narrowly went high and wide. Just moments after they nearly conceded, it was Stoke that took the lead as Bae Junho bursted down the wing and forced the ball into the six yard area which resulted in Van Hecke turning the ball into his own net.
The visitors knocked on the door towards the end of the half Buonanotte poked the ball just wide of the debutant Daniel Iverson’s goal from inside the box in a dangerous position. Despite all of Stoke’s efforts to stop the on coming pressure, the visitors equalized through a wonder strike from outside the box courtesy of Pervis Estupinian. A late goal for the away side meant that The Potters went in at half time all square.
Brighton came out the stronger side in the second half as in the fifty second minute, they took the lead after the Brighton captain Lewis Dunk dunked a header into the bottom right corner after he rose the highest over McNally. The Brighton goal didn’t faze the home side though as the footballing gods gifted them with some luck as goal scorer Lewis Dunk handled the ball in his own box gifting Stoke a penalty.
Lewis Baker was the man who stepped up to take the penalty and he thumped the ball into the bottom left corner past Verbruggen which levelled the game.
Unfortunately for Stoke though, the gap in quality was clear to see in the closing stages as Brighton score two goals in quick succession both scored by Joao Pedro infront of the travelling supporters.
Pedro’s first goal came in the seventy first minute as he beautifully placed a header past Iverson after a corner. His second came in the eightieth minute as he tapped the ball past Iverson to kill the game off and send Brighton into the 4th round.
Brighton seemed to have the clear difference in quality today, heres what The Seagulls manager had to say:
Roberto de Zerbi said: "We were unlucky in the first half, we didn't deserve to concede the first goal. "But we knew before the game the level of Stoke but in the end I think we deserved to win. We could have scored more goals but we did enough to win an animated game."
De Zerbi on Joao Pedro:
"I would like him to start the game from the start rather than in the second half. For Brighton this performance is enough but for a higher level he has to play 90 minutes."
"Our policy is to improve the players and sell when possible. It's a normal thing we have to accept. We have a lot of potential great players, not just Joao Pedro and Estupinan."
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