- Sidibe celebrating his winning goal in injury time against Aston Villa
New boys Stoke have already assumed parity with last years hapless losers Derby; when it comes to Premiership victories, after their first Top tier contest at Britannia Stadium - against high flying Aston Villa. Having soundly beaten Manchester City in the last round, one could be forgiven for expecting a comfortable away day Villa victory. Maybe the Villa players themselves thought it would be an easy outing - a picnic in the Britannia green.
Stoke, playing in front of a vociferous home crowd however, had other plans. The rest is history as they say. Stoke gained three deserved and valuable points, by beating back Aston Villa 3-2, the winning goal headed home by Sidibe - just seconds before the full time whistle. Stoke showed a battling mentality that might just give the team a fighting chance to stay up in the Premier League.
Like all newly promoted teams Stoke have been active on the transfer market and may yet bring in some much needed reinforcements - before the transfer deadline slams shut. The most astute of Stoke business, was however made two years ago on deadline day; the signing of Ricardo Fuller from Southampton. Fuller put the Aston Villa defense to the sword on multiple occasions and his goal was not only well deserved, but a little masterpiece in its own right.
In goal Sorensen looked competent and the central defense sturdy when put to the test. The full backs and wingers were perhaps a bit shaky and reinforcements in this area could make Stoke more competitive. The battling qualities of Stoke’s midfield eventually helped to win the day against their much more illustrious and talked about opponents, led by Gareth Barry (“will he stay, will he go” man). Dave Kitson fought hard in his link-up position, but those qualities could surely be purchased for less than 5 million pounds?
Midweek, Stoke entered the League Cup with 10 changes to the line-up(!). Despite playing with the back-ups, Stoke came away with another 3-2 victory, this time away to lowly Cheltenham. While not really a test, the team seems to continue stoking the flames, and success breeds success as they say… Whether or not this can save Stoke from the doomsday hell of relegation, still remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, in the Championship, Derby continued their death struggles and Jewell’s days at the helm of the sinking ship seem to be numbered. Maybe a more balanced, less desperate gung-ho-gambling method, could be suggested for the future of the club?
