Stoke City vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance20,124.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Stoke City and Hull City at the bet365 Stadium as goals from Mario Vrancic and Nick Powell saw the Potters earn a comfortable home win
Saturday 25 September 2021 18:10, UK
Stoke consolidated their place in the play-off places with a 2-0 win at home to Hull.
Mario Vrancic and Nick Powell scored goals in either half as the Potters secured their first win in three matches.
They were made to work hard for the victory against an energetic Hull side who tested Stoke inside the opening half hour.
Adam Davies made a good save from Tyler Smith before Lewie Coyle hit the post.
But, once Vrancic broke the deadlock with a clinical finish, it was a match which Stoke always looked like winning.
Hul are without a victory since the opening day of the season and have yet to win away.
The game enjoyed an open start with Matt Ingram cutting out a dangerous low cross from Josh Tymon as Jacob Brown prepared to pounce on six minutes.
Davies was out fast to block Tyler Smith's attempted lob, before Matt Smith fired the rebound wildly over on 11 minutes.
Keane Lewis-Potter headed Coyle's cross over seconds later as the visitors came into the game.
Coyle hit the post with a 30-yard shot on 14 minutes after the Stoke defence sat back.
Ingram fumbled a long-range Sam Clucas shot on 22 minutes before the rebound was cleared to safety.
Callum Elder made a brilliant last-ditch tackle in the box after Clucas got goal-side on 27 minutes.
Malik Wilks was close to getting on the end of Greg Docherty's cross three minutes later.
Vrancic put Stoke ahead after he turned two defenders before firing into the roof of the net on 35 minutes.
The midfielder curled a 25-yard free-kick wide three minutes later.
Ingram acrobatically beat away a Nick Powell shot after he cut inside before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box on 50 minutes.
Clucas had a shot well blocked three minutes later as Stoke started to increase the pressure.
Powell doubled Stoke's advantage on 58 minutes after he curled home a 35-yard free-kick.
Ingram may feel he could have done better after he got his hand to the ball.
Lewis-Potter scuffed a shot straight at Davies on 68 minutes.
James Chester was just unable to direct a deep Powell free-kick goalward on 73 minutes.
Callum Elder headed well over from Ryan Longman's cross on 80 minutes.
Sam Surridge failed to get power behind his shot a minute later, before Coyle blazed over from distance at the other end.
Brown drilled a 20-yard shot wide on 90 minutes after a Stoke counter-attack.
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "I am very pleased with the result. There were aspects of the performance that were good and aspects that we have to look at. I have to give credit to Hull, they pressed us well and we didn't build our game as well as we have done this season. We looked lethargic at times in the first half and we needed a spark. We got that with the goal.
"I thought the 20 minutes after half-time we looked more like ourselves. I felt we didn't really show our true self as we could have done. The demands on the players are extremely high and the games are demanding."
Hull's Grant McCann: "From the outside looking in, it is another defeat where we aren't creating chances, but that is not just the front three, it is the team as a whole. We were not clinical enough, but up until their goal what we were doing was really good.
"We had a chance with Tyler Smith and we hit the post. Then we made a decision to jump and press the ball and they are breaking against us and score. We started the second half well but it was backs against the wall once they scored the second. We are in a different division and there are top quality players in this league week in week out who will punish you."
