Stoke rally from 2-0 down to draw with West Brom

By Sports Desk April 06, 2024

Stoke picked up a precious point in their fight for Championship survival as they came back from 2-0 to draw with West Brom.

The Baggies stretched their unbeaten run to nine but it was a case of what could have been for Carlos Corberan’s side, who could have further cemented their play-off spot with victory at the bet365 Stadium.

Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston and Jed Wallace put the visitors two goals to the good with strikes either side of half-time.

But Million Manhoef grabbed one back before Andre Vidigal levelled with the rebound after Alex Palmer saved his penalty.

Stoke are now four points clear of the drop after picking up five points from their last three.

Steven Schumacher freshened up his side after Monday’s draw against Huddersfield with a quartet of changes.

Three of them were in attacking areas as Manhoef, Sead Haksabanovic and Ryan Mmaee returned to the starting line-up along with defender Enda Stevens.

Meanwhile, Corberan made three changes as Cedric Kipre, Grady Diangana and captain Jed Wallace replaced Semi Ajayi, John Swift and Tom Fellows after the draw with Watford.

Baggies stopper Palmer had to be alert early on to keep out Haksabanovic’s strike after he skipped past a defender.

Palmer was quick off his line to deny Mmaee one-on-one, before Haksabanovic fired wide from a tight angle.

For all of the Potters’ good work, it was the visitors who took the lead in the 24th minute. Johnston broke the deadlock with his seventh goal since making the switch from the Scottish giants as he smashed home at the near post after being found by Diangana.

Down the other end, Stevens came close to drawing the hosts back level as he struck wide of the mark.

And Mmaee did the same after he was exceptionally found by a ball over the top from captain Josh Laurent.

After the break, the Morocco international drove his way into the box and forced Palmer into action, but he went down injured soon after and was replaced by Tyrese Campbell.

Wallace doubled the lead just before the hour mark as Daniel Iversen could only push Brandon Thomas-Asante’s cross into his path.

Vidigal and Wouter Burger were hauled on by Schumacher in a desperate attempt to get something from the game.

Vidigal linked up with fellow substitute Campbell as the dragged his effort wide.

But the hosts halved the deficit with little over 20 minutes to go when Dutchman Ki-Jana Hoever flicked the ball into compatriot Manhoef’s path and he made no mistake as he buried his first goal for the club.

Substitute Yann M’Vila gave away a penalty when he brought down Campbell inside the box with 13 minutes left.

Palmer kept out Vidigal’s spot-kick but the Portuguese forward made no mistake from the follow-up to level.

Albion’s big chance came in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Andreas Weimann, an 87th-minute substitute, poked wide.

Related items

  • Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win

    Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.

    The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.

    Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.

    With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.

    Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.

    “We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.

    “The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."

    After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.

    Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.

    “Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.

    "Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.

    “The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”

  • Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style

    Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.

    Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.

    Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.

    Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle. 

    Data Debrief

    Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.

    It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts. 

  • Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys

    Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.

    Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.

    However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.

    With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.

    The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.

    Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End. 

    Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough

    Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.

    His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.