In the fourth preseason match for The Potters, they faced a very tough and challenging opponent on the field. Stockport County's coach, David Challinor, perfectly set up his team.
Challinor deployed a 3-4-1-2 formation, strengthening the defense to prevent Stoke City's offense from being too penetrative. For Stoke City, Steve Schumacher's strategy didn’t work out as well in this match.
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A Difficult Match for Stoke City
The match was very challenging for Stoke City in the first half. Steve Schumacher fielded a quite innovative starting eleven, with Jack Bonham replacing Victor Johansson in goal. The team lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, which is one of their most important and frequently used tactics.
The average age of The Potters' starting lineup was 27.8 years, making it a relatively young squad, though not as young as Stockport's, which had an average age of 24.9 years.
During the first half, the decisive moment came early. At the 16th minute, Michael Mellon was injured, giving way to Kyle Wootton, who took only 16 minutes after entering the game to score the winning goal. At the 32nd minute, Kyle Wootton scored to put Stockport ahead 1-0.
More valuable minutes for the Potters, who go down to a single goal against Stockport. pic.twitter.com/AGVYccDjvl
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) July 27, 2024
In the second half, Steve Schumacher sought the ideal pieces to turn the result around, as he did against Crewe Alexandra, where Stoke City came from behind to win. However, this match proved to be more difficult.
At the 62nd minute, Schumacher made his usual substitutions, bringing in important players like Eric Bocat, Bae Jun-ho, Lewis Baker, and Million Manhoeff. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the key to scoring, and the match ended with Stockport's 1-0 victory after 90 minutes.
The Potters Look to the Future After the Defeat
This defeat was a hard blow for the team, ending a streak of three consecutive victories. It was not the most convenient outcome for a preseason in which they had been performing perfectly and making significant progress.
Now, they must prepare for their next match against Bolton Wanderers on July 30th and aim to compete strongly in their fifth preseason game.