Sheffield Wednesday were the latest team to come away from the bet365 having won 3 points today as the Owls stole the game in the closing stages. Stoke have now lost 4 games in a row and are winless in six, with Alex Neil’s job now in serious jeopardy.
Deafening boos rang around the ground at half and full time and Stoke fans even sung “sacked in the morning” to Alex Neil, as he sheepishly darted down the tunnel without clapping the fans who sat in the cold watching depressing football.
The first half was a very frustrating period for both, as neither team had any real chance that threatened the goal. The game felt like a desperate battle in the first half as the ball was constantly being cleared, misplaced or shanked out for a throw. Stoke were already restless by 30 minutes and as tensions continued to grow, some fans had seen enough and began to leave.
The second half had more to offer visually as both teams created a few decent chances, which could have changed the outcome of the game. Early on, Wednesday threatened young Tommy Simkin’s goal as midfielder George Byers broke into the box and fired a shot towards goal from a harsh angle and the ball riffled off the post. Stoke came down the other end seconds after as club captain Josh Laurent has Stoke’s first shot of the game, with fans ironically cheering the fact they had waited 55 minutes for some action. Stoke did however, start to build some momentum around the sixtieth minute mark, when Bae Junho came close to opening the scoring for the Potters as he worked his way into the box through two Wednesday defenders, the Korean desperately stabbed the ball towards goal but it was an easy claim for Cameron Dawson.
Stoke were gifted a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the sixty first minute as Josh Laurent gets dragged down in the box gifting Stoke a penalty. Ryan Mmaee was the man with the penalty pressures today, but his penalty was perfectly predicted by Owls keeper Cameron Dawson as he dived to his left to claim the ball. The script was then written for the travelling team to go and steal the game in the closing stages and they did exactly that.
Owls forward Anthony Musaba found himself through on goal one on one vs Tommy Simkin and the attacker took full advantage of his chances putting the final nail in the coffin for Stoke.
The full time whistle was met by a choir of boos from the home fans as the manager and club captain darted down the tunnel.
Alex Neil was under heavy fire from the home fans at full time, here’s what he had to say:
Alex Neil: “What I said to the players after the game is that it’s on me. I'm going to take responsibility. I won’t shy away from that. I feel at the moment as if I’ve let John Coates down."
"When people describe it as a lonely place being a manager, that probably epitomised it today. When you’re doing well and you’re winning games – and I’ve been fortunate enough to experience that in my career – everybody is with you, everybody's part of it, everybody feels as if they've put something towards it getting to there. When it’s like that, and it has been like that in the last three matches, you’re on your own. That’s just the way it is. You’re on your own. But that’s the job of a coach, that's the job of manager.”
A lot to think about from a Stoke City perspective.
The Potters are back in action on Tuesday night with a home fixture against Swansea City
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