Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is sweating on Dominic Solanke’s fitness after the striker limped off with an ankle injury late on in the 2-0 win over Stoke at the Vitality Stadium.

Striker Solanke was brought on at half-time to reinvigorate Bournemouth and put his side ahead six minutes after coming on.

Joe Rothwell smashed in a free-kick to confirm the Cherries’ spot in the fourth round – where they will host Liverpool – but Solanke was replaced with five minutes to go to sour the evening.

“Dom has played well,” said Iraola, of his top scorer. “We needed a change of energy and the whole of the team had a different attitude in the second half.

“Unfortunately, he couldn’t finish the game, that was probably the worst part of the evening.

“We will see tomorrow if the ankle is swollen or not but we have a very tight schedule so it will be tough for him to play at the weekend.”

Former Liverpool forward Solanke controlled a low cross from Adam Smith before finishing with a neat swivel for his fourth goal of the season.

Three minutes later, the Cherries were in complete control when Rothwell’s free-kick from the left side of the box escaped everyone’s touch and bounced into the bottom corner.

It was the midfielder’s first goal since arriving from Blackburn before last season.

Iraola was happy to progress but not to be up against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the next round.

The Spaniard said: “We wouldn’t have chosen Liverpool, for sure, but I think we have to make them play a good game and come here and beat us. It isn’t an easy draw.”

Stoke manager Alex Neil was angered by some naivety before Solanke’s goal.

The Scot said: “I thought we competed really well for the majority of the match.

“First half there wasn’t a lot in the game which is summed up by them bringing two strong attacking players on at half-time.

“You could see at the start of the second half that they visibly upped the tempo and the lads that came on are naturally good players and got the fans behind them.

“I think the biggest disappointment is that when you are playing Premier League players you can semi-accept that you can get undone by quality play but the first goal for us is so frustrating.

“We gave the free-kick away and then after that we kicked the ball back to them, we weren’t set and the ball ends up in the back of the net.

“All the hard work we’d done in the first half was wasted because of the lapse of concentration and naivety.

“If you take the game in its entirety in terms of just playing I thought we competed and was good in spells.”

Dominic Solanke came off the bench to send Bournemouth into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after beating Championship side Stoke 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium.

Striker Solanke netted six minutes after coming on at half-time before Joe Rothwell’s free-kick burst through a crowded penalty area to settle the tie.

It sent the Cherries into the fourth round for the sixth time in 10 seasons, having only managed the feat twice in their first 54 attempts.

Bournemouth made eight changes from their 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday in a week they play three games in seven days.

Stoke made six of their own, after losing to Hull, and all the alterations made for a first half full of misplaced passes, heavy touches and frustration from the stands.

Added to that, neither side had any kind of form to hold onto. The Potters are winless in five in the Championship while the Cherries have only beaten Swansea in the last round under Andoni Iraola.

It took until the 13th minute for either side to have a shot of note, when Milos Kerkez stung the palms of Stoke goalkeeper Jack Bonham with a fierce shot from inside the penalty box.

The crowd was finally sparked into life with eight minutes left in the first half as Bournemouth enjoyed some sustained pressure.

Dango Ouattara produced an outrageous flick to turn Ki-Jana Hoever and earn space in the box but his thrash towards goal was pushed behind.

At the other end, Stoke, who had pressed with good discipline, threatened as Jordan Thompson ended a fine move by curling over before Wesley failed to meet a low cross.

Iraola unsurprisingly wrung the changes at half-time with regulars Solanke and Ryan Christie brought on.

It only took six minutes for top scorer Solanke to find the net.

The former Liverpool forward controlled a low cross from Adam Smith before finishing with a neat swivel for his fourth goal of the season.

Three minutes later, the Cherries were in complete control when Rothwell’s free-kick from the left side of the box escaped everyone’s touch and bounced into the bottom corner.

It was the midfielder’s first goal since arriving from Blackburn before last season.

Christie forced Bonham into a good diving save with a dipping effort from outside the box while Nathan Lowe’s acrobatic effort and Sol Sidibe’s flash across goal in stoppage time couldn’t set up a grandstand finish for Stoke.

The only sour note of the second half for Bournemouth was Solanke’s withdrawal five minutes from time having picked up a knock.

Liam Rosenior said he “won’t get carried away” after Hull returned to the play-off fray with a 3-1 win at Stoke.

First-half goals from Aaron Connolly – his fifth of the season – and Adama Traore handed the Tigers control just after the half-hour mark.

And the hosts’ miserable afternoon was compounded when Regan Slater’s strike deflected off Lynden Gooch and looped into his own net.

The returning Andre Vidigal notched a Potters consolation late on, but it was too little, too late as their winless run stretched to five league games.

Hull coasted to a seventh game unbeaten as they clinched a third successive away win in the Championship for the first time since 2013.

“I’m really happy,” said Rosenior, who marked the 50th game of his managerial career with victory.

“It always feels good when you win away from home and more pleasing than just the win was the performance.

“Everyone was excellent; we showed energy and confidence in the way that we played in possession and we were difficult to break down.

“The signs are really good, but the only stat that matters to me is where we finish at the end of the season.

“It’s brilliant to get the win but it has to be towards something so I won’t get carried away.

“We’re in a good place; we don’t need to focus on the results because they come as a product of our performances and they’ve been consistent this season.”

Goal-scorer Connolly and team-mate Jean Michael Seri clashed at half-time, but Rosenior paid tribute to their attitudes.

He added: “They were arguing and they want to win. I’ve been asking for that from them for the whole year that I’ve been here.

“You need to be demanding with each other; they argued and then they hugged and made up and they’re best mates again.

“You need to fall out with each other at times because it makes you better and makes you successful; it’s perfect and that’s the mentality I want.”

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing afternoon for Stoke as they slumped closer to the relegation zone.

“I think the best team won. It’s the poorest we’ve been tactically since I’ve been here,” boss Alex Neil admitted.

“You look at the game today and think either our set-up wasn’t good enough or we didn’t commit to it or a combination of both.

“We lacked belief in doing it today and when you lack belief it looks a bit of a dog’s dinner.

“We showed a lack of confidence – which is the first time I’ve seen that from them this season – so that was disappointing.

“I don’t ever make any qualms with what fans want to do or if they want to boo or voice their frustration.

“They’re here to support their team and see their team win; if they don’t win, particularly in modern football, it’s either one extreme or the other.

“If you win a game, you’re going up. If you lose a game, you’re getting relegated, so that’s the nature of football now.

“How they voice their opinion, I don’t have any views on it whatsoever; I just want to get the team performing well and trying to win.

“For us, we need that one win that’s going to lift some of the lads and then hopefully we can put a decent run together.”

Hull extended their unbeaten run to seven league games with a comfortable 3-1 victory at Stoke.

The Tigers leapt back into the play-off places thanks mainly to a quickfire double after the half-hour mark.

Aaron Connolly opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season after good work from former Potters loanee Jaden Philogene.

And the shell-shocked hosts fell further behind a matter of seconds after the restart when Adama Traore notched his first goal since April.

Regan Slater’s shot led to a Lynden Gooch own goal in the second half as Hull coasted towards a third successive Championship away victory for the first time since April 2013.

Stoke notched a late consolation through the returning Andre Vidigal, but he could not prevent their winless run stretching to five league games.

The tone for the home side was set inside 13 minutes as Tyrese Campbell limped off to add to the Potters’ injury woes.

Despite their early setback, the first clear chance fell to Stoke but Daniel Johnson dragged his effort wide in what would prove to be a costly miss.

At the opposite end, Philogene – who spent six months in the Potteries in 2022 – overpowered Ben Wilmot to tee up Connolly for a simple finish as Hull took the lead.

And the bright Connolly was instrumental as the Tigers raced to double their advantage almost immediately after the restart.

The Republic of Ireland forward advanced dangerously from goalkeeper Ryan Allsop’s long pass and his blocked strike popped up invitingly for Traore, who drilled a first-time effort on the swivel into the corner.

Vidigal, who had missed a month through injury, tried to rouse a comeback with his free-kick forcing a stop from Allsop.

Yet Stoke nearly fell further behind in a calamitous first half when a downward Connolly header was cleared off the line by an alert Johnson.

Sead Haksabanovic, like Vidigal minutes earlier, came close to halving the hosts’ arrears from a free-kick but again Allsop was on hand to save.

And it was a similar story after the interval with the Hull stopper twice thwarting Wesley, with the second a miraculous instinct save from point-blank range.

The visitors took advantage and soon added a third with a long-range Slater strike deflecting off Gooch and looping over a helpless Mark Travers.

The Potters’ shining light Vidigal then offered his side a lifeline as he marked his return with a fifth goal of the season.

After skipping beyond the challenge of Jacob Greaves, the Portuguese forward finished accurately low into Allsop’s far corner, but it was too little, too late.

Stoke searched desperately for a late reprieve, but Hull held on for a first league victory in the Potteries since January 2006.

Departing Huddersfield boss Neil Warnock feels he has restored the pride back into the West Yorkshire club as his reign ended with a 2-2 draw against Stoke.

Matty Pearson put the Terriers ahead but Daniel Johnson quickly responded with Stoke’s first away goal of this Championship campaign.

Ben Wilmot’s looping header put the visitors ahead before Jack Rudoni equalised to earn Warnock his final point.

Four months after remarkably keeping the club in the second tier, Warnock was proud of the way his players fought back in his final game in charge.

He said: “What we’ve done in the last six months has put the pride back into Huddersfield.

“The fans are glad they are supporting the Terriers and I feel really proud. It has been hard work this six months.

“I don’t think anybody thought we could do what we did last year, it was an absolute miracle. Yes, it’s come early, I did not expect to leave until Christmas or round about then. But I will look on from afar with great affection – I want them to do well.

“I said to the lads at the end of the game that there is no reason why you don’t go and push on now and look at going up rather than looking behind you.”

The 74-year-old is eager to continue his journey in management following his recent post.

He added: “I’ve just loved every minute on the training ground.

“It’s just got me going again and made me realise that my strength, you can’t get in a book. My strength is what I do with people and you look at my promotions, I’ve never had the best teams but eight great dressing rooms and every one of those players will remember my time here.”

Stoke boss Alex Neil felt his side missed a great opportunity to pick up their first away win of the season and thinks his side’s performance warranted more than a point.

He said: “It’s certainly two points dropped from our perspective.

“You can’t dominate a game as much as we dominated tonight and defend as poorly as we did for both goals and that’s ultimately cost us the points.

“I thought some of our play was as good as we’ve played since I’ve been here at times, I thought we created good chances and scored two goals.

“I don’t feel encouraged right now. It is probably the sorest one this season because of how well we played. You understand in the Championship when you play well you need to make it count – and I thought we played well tonight.”

Huddersfield drew 2-2 with Stoke in Neil Warnock’s final game in charge.

Town had announced Tuesday’s Championship fixture would be Warnock’s last with the club and the 74-year-old saw his side open the scoring through Matty Pearson’s first-half header.

But they were ahead for less than two minutes as Daniel Johnson netted Stoke’s first first away goal of the season.

The Potters went ahead in the 62nd minute courtesy of Ben Wilmot, but their lead was also short-lived as Jack Rudoni quickly pulled the hosts level.

But Huddersfield could not find another goal to give Warnock a winning send off.

The visitors thought they broke the deadlock 11 minutes in when Tyrese Campbell was fed through before lashing home but the linesman’s flag came to Huddersfield’s rescue.

Huddersfield grew into the contest and could have had the opener themselves but Rudoni’s powerful low effort was well met by on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers.

The hosts hit the front in the 33rd minute after they were awarded a free-kick just inside City’s half and Pearson rose highest from Josh Koroma’s cross to nod home the opener.

Stoke quickly hit back. Campbell’s initial effort was parried by Lee Nicholls and the ball was diverted by by Wouter Burger into the path of Johnson, who rifled home to make it 1-1.

The Potters thought they had hit the front after Burger’s pass towards goal ended up in the back of the net but Campbell proved to be in an offside position as he tried to tuck the ball home.

Stoke ended the half on top. Johnson’s in-swinging corner was glanced marginally wide by the head of Wilmot before Campbell shanked wide from six yards out a couple of minutes before the interval.

The first chance of the second period fell the way of the visitors as Sead Haksabanovic opened up the space with a clever fake shot but his resulting effort flew wastefully over the bar.

Stoke had not scored in their previous three league matches but were in the mood to make amends and they took the lead just after the hour mark when Haksabanovic’s corner was headed in by Wilmot.

Huddersfield were level within six minutes. Moments after Koroma’s tame close-range shot was saved by Travers, a recycled corner ended up at the feet of Rudoni who turned home from inside the area.

Huddersfield had the final opportunity to snatch all three points with a dangerous free-kick deep into stoppage time but Rudoni’s teasing ball into the area could not find a way past Travers as the sides took a point each.

Norwich head coach David Wagner was impressed with two facets of his side’s game as they beat Stoke 1-0 to maintain their excellent start to the Championship season.

The Canaries had to battle hard to secure a third straight win at Carrow Road but got their noses in front just before the break through Jack Stacey and then defended well in the second half to secure the points.

Wagner said: “I thought we played a lot of good stuff in the first half, kept going to the end and finally got our reward.

“Then in the second we had to dig in at times to get the result. Sometimes in football players get asked questions, about the need to work hard and put in a shift and they have done that.

“It was a tough game against a strong Stoke side with a lot of good individuals and we have come away with a deserved win.

“The only thing I can complain about is the way we managed the game in the final five minutes when we should have be taking the ball to the corner flag rather than going for a second goal.”

A scrappy match with few highlights was settled by a 44th minute goal from Stacey, his first for the Canaries since signing in the summer from Bournemouth.

The defender was in the right place at the right time to convert from close range after a cross from the right from Christian Fassnacht had taken a fortunate deflection off Mehdi Leris.

Norwich barely threatened after that but Stoke also struggled to get a clear sight of goal.

Tyrese Campbell missed a great chance to equalise almost straight away, dragging a first-time shot wide from a good position, and substitute Dwight Gayle failed to convert a close-range chance in stoppage time.

But the hosts had few anxious moments as they maintained their bright start to the campaign.

Wagner also praised goal hero Stacey, adding: “He scored a good goal, got plenty of crosses in and was also solid in his defensive work. He has done well since he arrived and we are delighted to have him.”

Stoke manager Alex Neil was frustrated to come away from his former hunting ground empty-handed.

He said: “I am very disappointed we didn’t get something – I certainly don’t think we deserved to lose the game.

“It always looked like a game which would be won by the more clinical team and that’s the way it turned out.

“We had four or five good opportunities but didn’t manage to score any of them while they scored a scruffy goal from just about the only time we didn’t defend our box properly.

“I thought the performance was really encouraging at a really difficult place to come but I would rather we’d played poorly and won. On another day we could certainly have won the game.

“It’s difficult because we are working with a new-look squad and we have lost a number of players with injuries but I have no complaints with the effort they put in today.”

Norwich maintained their excellent start to the season at Carrow Road with a third straight home win as they beat Stoke 1-0 to keep up with the early pacemakers in the Championship.

A scrappy game with few clear opportunities was settled by a 44th-minute goal from defender Jack Stacey, his first for the Canaries since his arrival from Bournemouth during the summer.

It was a deserved win for the hosts, although they rarely hit the heights against a Stoke side who also struggled to create as they slipped to a fourth defeat in six league games.

Both sides looked short of ideas early on, with the warm conditions clearly having an affect on the pace of play, and it wasn’t until the later stages of the half that the game livened up.

The first good chance at either end didn’t arrive until the 39th minute and it was wasted by Norwich striker Adam Idah, who got a firm connection inside a crowded area but fired straight at Mark Travers.

Jon Rowe did likewise a couple of minutes later after working himself some space by cutting inside from the left but the late pressure did eventually tell, with the hosts taking the lead just before the break.

Christian Fassnacht set the goal up by dinking in a cross from the right and Stacey was in the perfect place to fire home from close range following a fortunate deflection off defender Mehdi Leris.

Stoke almost got back on level terms from their next attack but Tyrese Campbell screwed his shot wide from a good position after being set up by Wouter Burger.

The visitors started the second half brightly, with Campbell having a decent effort blocked, but Norwich looked comfortable enough after their excellent finish to the first.

The Canaries gave a debut to on-loan South Korea international Hwang Ui-jo as they went looking for a second, which nearly arrived on the hour mark when Fassnacht lifted the ball just over after muscling his way through.

Stoke still posed a threat, as they emphasised on 77 minutes when skipper Josh Laurent curled an excellent effort just over from distance, and they almost grabbed a point in the final minute of stoppage time, with substitute Dwight Gayle making a mess of a close-range opportunity.

Ryan Lowe praised the “togetherness” of his table-topping Preston side after they won 2-0 at Stoke.

A second-half Will Keane double was the difference as the Lilywhites continued their unbeaten start to the season.

Half-time substitute Duane Holmes proved instrumental for the visitors, winning a penalty for Keane’s opener and then teeing up his side’s second.

Keane converted from 12 yards and tapped in for a simple brace, notching his third and fourth goals since a summer switch from Wigan.

In the process, Preston won their fourth league game in a row for the first time since May 2021.

“I’m really pleased. The performance was fantastic,” Lowe said. “We were defensively solid and resolute, and we knew we could create some chances as well.

“They’re a good team, got some good players and spent a lot of money, but we’ve got that real togetherness.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but our lads put their bodies on the line and deservedly came away with three points.

“We’ve got that togetherness with the group knowing what they’re doing and they left everything out there.

“I’ve always got belief, we’re going to enjoy the moment because we know it’s going to get harder because people are going to want to beat us.

“But that’s fine, we’ve got that real hunger and togetherness, and the lads are taking leadership and going about their business fantastically well.

“I’ve got an unbelievable group of staff who work tirelessly to give the lads everything and they’re buying into it and long may that continue.

“The group behind the players who haven’t been playing have been great, are sticking together and they’ve got that real family feel about them.

“We’ve got more depth, we’ve got good players, we’ve recruited smartly and we’re going to keep smiling and enjoy the moment.”

Ex-Preston boss Alex Neil, who spent just shy of four years at Deepdale, endured a frustrating afternoon at the hands of his former employers.

The hosts had to wait until the 77th minute before registering their first shot on target as their four-match winning run at home was ended.

“It was a frustrating game and there wasn’t much in it,” Neil noted.

“The first goal was always going to be vitally important because if they get it, they’ve been excellent at seeing the game out.

“The second goal was disappointing and at that point we’ve got a mountain to climb, and we huffed and puffed but it wasn’t enough.

“We know the magnitude of the changes we’ve made this summer and we had a new set of players today.

“We were trying to win a league game against a team which has been together for a significant amount of time and knows how to function.

“I’m not trying to blame that for the result, I just thought there were two key moments and we didn’t get them right.

“It was a frustrating day for us and I didn’t think Preston needed to play well to win.

“We know how much has changed at the club and it’s been a baptism of fire; there’s so much churn and it’s hard to get any continuity.

“What will happen in the next few games is we’ll find where people are in the pecking order so that will become clearer.”

A Will Keane double secured Preston their fourth successive league win as they rose to the Sky Bet Championship summit with a 2-0 victory at Stoke.

The summer recruit from Wigan netted a quickfire brace early in the second half as the Lilywhites’ unbeaten start continued.

Half-time substitute Duane Holmes orchestrated the Preston knockout blow, firstly winning a penalty which Keane converted.

And the United States international was provider again for Keane’s second as he teeed up his strike partner for an easy tap-in.

A new-look Potters side, whose busy deadline day took their summer additions to 18, offered little in resistance as their four-match winning run at home was ended.

After a fierce start in which former Preston midfielder Ben Pearson was booked within 46 seconds, the visitors nearly opened the scoring with the game’s first effort on goal.

An Alan Browne effort from range deflected off Ben Wilmot and nearly wrongfooted Mark Travers, but the Potters’ goalkeeper did well to adjust and save.

Stoke gradually grew into the fixture and roles were reversed at the opposite end when Wilmot was then thwarted by Browne. A scramble in the box ended with the ball popping up invitingly for the defender, but his goalbound strike was headed clear by Preston’s captain.

The reliable Travers was called into action again shortly after the half-hour mark when a miraculous reflex stop kept the scores level.

Andrew Hughes advanced dangerously into the area and his cross was nearly inadvertently converted by Stoke defender Enda Stevens, if not for Travers’ instinct save.

The hosts’ best chance of the first half fell to Tyrese Campbell when he was found in the box by a pinpoint Wesley delivery, but the forward miscued his volleyed attempt.

A first half low on creativity drew to an uneventful close and Preston boss Ryan Lowe delivered a masterstroke to swing the tie in his side’s favour.

The introduction of Holmes at the interval proved the difference as the new addition from Huddersfield continued his bright start to life with the Lancashire outfit.

A jinking and weaving run from Holmes was abruptly stopped by Wouter Burger in the box, with the Stoke midfielder penalised by referee Matthew Donohue.

Keane stepped up for the ensuing spot-kick and happily obliged from 12 yards, drilling an effort down the middle of the goal.

Preston’s two new stars combined again in the 57th minute when Holmes set up Keane to send the travelling 2,586 fans into delirium.

Stoke boss Alex Neil – who spent just shy of four years in the Preston hotseat – tried to rouse a fightback from his shell-shocked side.

But the home side had to wait until the 77th minute to register their first shot on target as Campbell came closest to providing a consolation.

Stoke manager Alex Neil was delighted with his new recruits as full debutants Wouter Burger and Mehdi Leris got on the scoresheet in a 6-1 Carabao Cup thrashing of Rotherham.

The second-round win extends the Potters’ perfect home record to four matches in all competitions this season – a run that started with a 4-1 victory over the Millers on the opening day of the new Championship campaign.

Burger, signed from FC Basel, opened the scoring early on, while Leris, brought in from Sampdoria, completed the rout in the 72nd minute.

“I think it’s important that obviously we try and maintain our home form, which has been good, and it’s nice to score a lot of goals,” Neil said.

“It’s nice to get a lot of new fellas on the pitch as well.

“We’re still in that transitional period where we’re getting boys in and trying to get them on the pitch.

“But we scored some great goals.

“I think to start it, Wout getting his first goal, sort of set us on our way.”

Stoke took a second-minute lead when Burger drove home from distance after picking up Cameron Humphreys’ headed clearance.

Summer signing Ryan Mmaee doubled the home side’s advantage in the 18th minute, bending the ball from Leris’ pull back.

Rotherham skipper Sean Morrison’s header swiftly halved the deficit, but Stoke restored their two-goal lead just before the half-hour mark as captain Josh Laurent arrowed a shot into the bottom corner.

The advantage was further increased as half-time approached, with Tyrese Campbell curling the ball in off the crossbar.

Any slender hopes the visitors had of staging a comeback were dashed in the 55th minute, when Laurent latched onto Campbell’s headed pass and rifled the ball into the net for his second goal, and Leris made it 6-1 with a fine finish 18 minutes from time.

Rotherham boss Matt Taylor, who made six changes to the team that started the 2-1 defeat to Leicester on Saturday, had no arguments with the final scoreline.

“Regardless of the personnel we had on that pitch, I think some of the players can perform better than they did,” he said.

“We knew what Stoke were going to come with because we faced it three weeks ago in the first game of the season, and we still couldn’t match their speed and intensity.”

Captain Josh Laurent scored twice as Stoke thrashed Rotherham 6-1 to book their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

The win extends the Potters’ perfect home record to four victories in all competitions this season – a run that started with a 4-1 triumph over the Millers on the opening day of the new Championship campaign.

Stoke took an early lead when Dutchman Wouter Burger, making his full debut having recently signed from FC Basel, drove home from long distance after picking up Cameron Humphreys’ headed clearance.

Ryan Mmaee doubled the home side’s advantage in the 18th minute, beautifully bending the ball into the net after Mehdi Leris, also making his full debut having signed from Sampdoria, had pulled a cross back to him.

Rotherham skipper Sean Morrison’s header from a Cafu corner swiftly halved the deficit, but Stoke restored their two-goal lead just before the half-hour mark as Laurent arrowed a shot into the bottom corner after picking up possession outside the box.

The advantage was further extended as half-time approached, with Tyrese Campbell curling his effort in off the crossbar after toying with defender Jamie McCart in the area.

Any slender hopes the visitors had of staging a comeback were dashed in the 55th minute, when Laurent latched onto Campbell’s headed pass and rifled the ball into the net for his second goal of the night.

Leris completed the rout with a fine finish 18 minutes from time, scoring a first goal for his new club after being played through by Laurent.

Gary Rowett hailed a determined Millwall performance after they ended a run of three straight defeats to beat Stoke 1-0.

Rowett labelled his team as “lacklustre” after their 3-1 loss to Norwich last week and has faced criticism from Lions fans following a poor start to the season.

But Kevin Nisbet’s excellent first-half finish was enough for a fifth win in six games against the Potters, who missed a host of second-half chances.

“I’m pleased for the players. I’m still the same manager as I was last week but a little bit happier,” Rowett said.

“I understand the fan criticism. When you pay your money you take your choice but I knew that our fans would get behind us if we put the relevant energy and aggression into the game. That’s what they want to see and that’s what I thought we gave them.

“Certainly, first half I thought we were very good. We played on the front foot, we played forward early, we supported quickly, played off those second balls. We caused Stoke quite a lot of problems, we scored the goal with a good finish to give us that slender lead.

“(Nesbit) just has that calmness around him when he’s in and around the box.

“Stoke made a good tactical change at half-time but we’ve dug in and had to be resilient.”

Millwall were the stronger team in the first half and found the breakthrough when Stoke failed to deal with a looping long throw from the right, bouncing kindly for Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.

Stoke came into the game after a quadruple substitution at half-time. Andre Vidigal went close with a one-on-one and forced a fine save from Matija Sarkic, while Tyrese Campbell hit a post and Wouter Burger had a late drive fizz wide.

Stoke dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened and Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Mehdi Leris shot just over in a scramble.

Potters manager Alex Neil is adamant his team deserved at least a point after camping inside the Millwall half.

Stoke have signed 10 players this summer, including three in the past week, and Neil admits it will take for them to gel – but still wants to add more to his squad before the deadline.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“We’ve still got to add, we know that, this was always going to be the case for us. The fact is we had won three games out of four this season so far, we’ve won three games out of five now. I think you can see that we’re a good side.”

Millwall held off a strong second-half push from Stoke to secure a 1-0 win and their first home points of the season.

Gary Rowett, who had taken stick from his own supporters in defeat at Norwich last weekend, saw his side control the first half at the Den and deservedly go in with a lead courtesy of a strike from summer signing Kevin Nisbet.

Stoke came into the game after a quadruple substitution at half-time as Andre Vidigal went close with a one-on-one and forced a fine save from Matija Sarkic, while Tyrese Campbell hit a post and Wouter Burger had a late drive fizz wide.

But it was Millwall who hung on and Rowett continues his hold over his old side, having won six out of nine encounters since leaving the Potters in 2019.

Millwall had taken hold of a scrappy match midway through the first half and Mark Travers made a series of saves.

The goalkeeper had to be down smartly to keep out a low, whipped free-kick from wide on the left by Zian Flemming. George Saville thought he had scored with the rebound only for Ben Wilmot to flash across to deflect wide with a header.

Stoke fans were still singing Travers’ name when he shifted across to keep out another Flemming free-kick and then acrobatically got his fingertips to stop a close-range header from Jake Cooper.

Millwall found the breakthrough when Stoke failed to deal with a loopy long throw from the right, bouncing kindly for Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.

Stoke manager Alex Neil handed debuts to new signings Mehdri Leris and Burger in a major half-time reshuffle.

The visitors did come to life and, after Campbell had their first shot on target, Wesley pushed a through-ball to Vidigal to clip a shot just past Sarkic and the post. Campbell cracked a shot just over the crossbar from the right corner of the area.

Stoke dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened and Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Leris shot just over in a scramble.

Flemming had half a chance to seal the win, but his shot was blocked by Luke McNally and Sarkic was forced into a flying stoppage-time save to keep the score at 1-0, diving to his left to tip over a dipping 30-yard drive from Vidigal.

Travers joined the Stoke attack for a couple of late corners, seeing Campbell flick a header onto the far post before Burger flashed onto a loose ball in the dying moments and skidded a shot past the left post.

Alex Neil expressed his delight at Stoke’s home comforts as they defeated Watford 1-0.

New hero Andre Vidigal starred again as he notched his fourth goal in as many games since a summer move from Maritimo.

The Portuguese winger – who turned 25 in midweek – fired in a second-half winner with an emphatic strike on the volley.

And, in the process, The Potters secured successive league victories at home for the first time since April 2022, while they also beat West Brom in the cup.

“We’ve now won three games on the bounce at home and I think that’s vitally important to get our fans onside and backing us,” Neil said.

“You can see that connection starting to happen because the fans can see that the players left everything on the pitch so I’m really pleased.

“Watford are a really good side and they’ll be at the top end of the division for me so we knew it was going to be tough.

“In the main, we contained them really well, defensively we were sound and we got a goal that changed the dynamic of the game.

“You could see today that we were good in both boxes in terms of that final strike to get a goal and when we needed Travers at the other end.”

Neil also praised the in-form Vidigal, who continues to impress on English soil.

“The biggest thing about Andre is that he’s equally comfortable playing off the left, off the right or as a centre forward.

“He’s always going to get chances, he’s always looked a threat and he actually could’ve had more with the chances he’s had.

“He’s got that unbelievable knack of landing in the right position and getting strikes away and he just wants to score.

“He said to me at half-time, ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to score!’ and then he did so fair play to him.”

Meanwhile, Watford’s unbeaten league start under new boss Valerien Ismael comes to an end.

Substitute Yaser Asprilla spurned two glorious opportunities to open the scoring and then level late on, but the Colombia international failed to convert.

“Our performance in the first half was not good enough and we didn’t stick to our gameplan,” Ismael admitted.

“We created chances but it wasn’t enough and we weren’t present in the basics.

“If you are not having a good day, at least make sure you get the basics right and we didn’t do that.

“That’s what I said at half-time and in the second half we came out much better, but we conceded a goal in our best period of the game.

“We created a lot of chances after that so at least we saw our identity, but it’s a journey in this division.

“The players need to learn that the Championship is ruthless and every game you’ve got to be on it and if you think it is going to be easy you will be punished like today.

“We will learn from the game and make sure from the beginning we are ready to compete, especially in away games.

“You can lose games, I don’t mind, but at least I want to see the identity and the mentality in the players, and I missed it in the first half.

“What we deserve is the criticism that we didn’t perform for 90 minutes.”