Stoke City have slipped to a first league defeat under Steven Schumacher as a spirited performance against Birmingham was but caught short by a lack of clinical finishing.
Saturday's game ended Stoke’s unbeaten run of seven and it also gives Tony Mowbray his first 3 points as Birmingham boss. The game highlighted a key problem for Stoke in the attacking areas, as they had ample amount of chances to win the game however, did not capitalize on the opportunities.
The Potters' January Transfer Window is still not finished yet though as they still look to resolve these problems with a much needed out and out striker with an eye for goal.
The home side started quickly and nearly put themselves in front after a wild goal scramble, the ball fell to Bae Junho inside the box in a dangerous position but the South Korean fired his shot into the outside side netting.
Shortly after, Birmingham went up the other end of the pitch and powered themselves in front as Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield emphatically fired the ball into the roof of the net past Daniel Iverson against the run of play.
The goal didn’t seem to have too much of a negative effect on the Stoke players though as they carried on creating chances for themselves throughout the first half, they just weren’t clinical enough to finish them. The home side did come close to levelling the game in the twenty ninth minute as Andre Vidigal received the ball in a dangerous position outside the box, the winger tried to lift the ball into the far corner but his effort narrowly went wide of the goal.
Blues wasted no time in the second half as Bacuna produced a moment of brilliance from a freekick from outside the box. The winger curled the ball into the top left corner in front of the travelling supporters.
Stoke managed to pull one back in the seventieth minute as Wouter Burger’s enticing cross was tapped in at the far post by Jordan Thompson who also scored against Birmingham on Boxing Day.
The last thirty minutes was a scrap for Stoke as they tried everything in their power to equalize. They came very close to levelling things in the seventy fifth minute as Michael Rose headed a ball into the path of Ryan Mmaee who blazed the ball over the bar into The Boothen End from close range.
Despite Stoke’s efforts, Birmingham claimed all three points.
Full Time:
Stoke City 1-2 Birmingham City
Manager Comments:
Schumacher’s first loss in the league as Stoke boss, here’s what he had to say:
Was there enough in that performance to be positive about in terms of intensity or approach?
Schumacher: “I think so. When you have 71 per cent possession and 20-odd shots and 14 corners, that tells you that you’ve had a decent performance. We haven’t had the result we wanted or probably deserve but that’s football, it can happen. There’s no need to panic.”
When you're having troubles scoring at home, does it become a psychological thing? The weight of not scoring from open play at this ground for so long?
Schumacher: “I’m not sure. I don’t really think about open play. You all keep mentioning it but it doesn’t really bother me if we score, we score – I don’t mind where it’s from. To answer your question, I don’t know if it’s a psychological thing. We just have to find a way to keep creating chances and if we get into areas, trust that we’ve got enough out there to score those opportunities. I haven’t looked too much into it, we just have to keep going.”
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