Stoke City vs Huddersfield Town; Sky Bet Championship
Stoke City vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance20,447.
Stoke City 2
- J Brown (50th minute)
- M Pearson (63rd minute own goal)
Huddersfield Town 1
- H Toffolo (47th minute)
Stoke City 2-1 Huddersfield: Potters come from behind to sink Terriers
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Stoke City and Huddersfield at the bet365 Stadium as Harry Toffolo put the Terriers in front, but Jacob Brown and a Matty Pearson own goal seals victory for the Potters.
Saturday 11 September 2021 18:23, UK
Stoke came from behind to beat in-form Huddersfield 2-1 and move third in the Sky Bet Championship.
Jacob Brown's header cancelled out Harry Toffolo's opener before a Matty Pearson own goal settled the contest, with all three goals coming in the second half.
A well-organised Stoke side kept the Terriers pinned inside their own half in a tight opening 45 minutes, and striker Sam Surridge proved a handful early on.
He headed over Mario Vrancic's cross after 10 minutes and was lurking in the box again on the quarter hour but was not quite able to stretch far enough to guide home Ben Wilmot's cross.
Seeking a fourth successive win, Huddersfield enjoyed a better spell midway through the first period. The impressive Sorba Thomas won a corner that he then delivered onto the head of Pearson which flashed behind via a deflection for another corner.
This yielded an even better opportunity, as a Thomas inswinger was flicked on by skipper Jonathan Hogg but Naby Sarr could not keep his close-range header down and Stoke survived.
The home side pressed with increased purpose as the half wore on, with Josh Tymon proving a constant menace down the left.
His deep cross forced Sarr to head behind with Surridge waiting for a free header, before another wonderful Tymon delivery saw a stretching Brown inches away from converting the opener.
Tom Lees headed over from a Thomas free-kick as Huddersfield played on the counter, before Tymon created a chance for himself with some neat footwork but blasted a right-foot effort well over.
This fixture produced seven goals last season and the Terriers opened the scoring here two minutes after the restart.
Stoke goalkeeper Joe Bursik opted to block a Thomas free-kick with his feet and as the ball cannoned back off Hogg, Toffolo was on hand to sweep home.
The response was immediate as the Potters won a corner and Brown rose unmarked to head Vrancic's delivery past goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.
Stoke were ahead in the 63rd minute. Man-of-the-match Vrancic was again the creator as his run and low cross caused havoc in a hesitant Town defence and Pearson, with his legs in a tangle, could only divert the ball into his own net.
Thomas looked the most likely to rescue a point for Huddersfield, and he fizzed a low-free kick inches wide with seven minutes to go with Bursik beaten.
But that was as close as the visitors came and Stoke should have had a third when Sam Clucas side-footed over the crossbar when clean through on goal.
What the managers said...
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "We are delighted with the result. We had to be patient. First half we had a lot of control but found it difficult to create clear opportunities against a well-disciplined team. Our reaction to going behind was excellent. We weren't at our best today but showed enough to win the game.
"We still have players to come back in so overall we have a really balanced squad and competition for places will be high and you need that to get consistency in the season. There is nothing better than winning at home. That is where your fans get to see you and they can be a big factor to help you get those wins."
Huddersfield's Carlos Corberan: "We knew we were playing a good, well-organised team. In the first half we defended more than we attacked. We only threatened through set pieces. We didn't really concede any chances but they have two strikers they use very well and that was dangerous. The team was good defensively. But we wanted to be more aggressive and create chances.
"Stoke are patient with the ball and have three quality midfielders and two dangerous strikers. But we didn't use our goal-kicks well enough to turn them around. We did manage the game better in the second half but conceded those goals."
