Championship: Stoke City 3 Brentford 2
From the club website:
Two late goals from Marcus Forss was unable to prevent Brentford slipping to defeat against Stoke City on a wet and windy autumnal afternoon. The Bees fell behind early on and Stoke never let that lead slip. It was 2-0 before half time and 3-0 early in the second period as the home side showed their ruthlessness in the final third, making the most of their attacking possession to punish Brentford.
And there was no doubt that the better team won on the day. Brentford were unable to build any momentum and conceded goals, particularly the second and third, at times when they looked like they might be able to take the initiative. John Obi Mikel patrolled the midfield like a man who had won the UEFA Champions League and Brentford only had real control when his intensity dropped off in the final stages. Forss got his two goals to give hope of an unlikely point but Stoke had already done enough.
Stoke took the lead the first time they went on the attack. James McClean started it with a clever touch to move away from Henrik Dalsgaard and was able to attack a Brentford defence pulled out of shape. He was held up on the edge of the penalty area but fed the ball to his left where Tyrese Campbell delivered a cross for Steven Fletcher to head in. Brentford never recovered from that first burst from McClean and Stoke had the lead.
That goal came ten minutes in and was just about the only thing to happen in the first quarter of the contest. Brentford began the game with three central defenders and they had a lot of the ball, but whenever they played it forward, Stoke swarmed on them. It was hard for Josh Dasilva and Vitaly Janelt to progress up the pitch from the centre of the pitch and Brentford’s front three did not get many early touches.
Stoke were working incredibly hard off the ball. Mikel and Jordan Thompson in the centre of the field stopped Brentford building any momentum and with a lead to defend, the home side were often content to move in to a back five and invite The Bees to try and find a way through. As the half wore on, Brentford were able to put together some attacking possession, but they were 2-0 down by the break and almost out of the game.
The second goal came when The Bees lost the ball in their own half. Campbell picked up possession and fed it to McClean on the left, he let fly with a shot that flicked off Charlie Goode, wrong-footed David Raya and nestled in the back of the net. Stoke had not done a lot to get themselves 2-0 up but had control of the contest for most of the first period and had limited Brentford to few attacks.
The closest Brentford came to a first half goal was when Ivan Toney diverted a Dasilva pass in to the path of Sergi Canós but Adam Davies darted from his goal to gave at the feet of the Brentford attacker. There was a series of corners midway through the half that almost resulted in a goal. Ethan Pinnock had an effort deflected wide and there was pushing, shoving and pulling that saw bodies everywhere but referee Keith Stroud deem no offence had been committed.
Dalsgaard also had an effort blocked for The Bees but by the time the game reached the interval, Stoke were well worth a two-goal lead and it could have been worse. Jacob Brown headed a cross straight at Raya and Campbell had an effort blocked after the home side won the ball in Brentford territory. Brentford did end the half pushing Stoke back but the damage had been done and it was a long way back in the second period.
The Bees made substantial changes at the interval. Mathias Jensen and Bryan Mbeumo were introduced, and Brentford switched from a back three to a back four. Jensen was slotted in to the centre of midfield to reinforce that area and The Bees started the second period well. Dasilva lofted an effort narrowly over the bar and space was created for Canós to shoot from 20 yards but he failed to really trouble Davies.
But just when Brentford appeared to be building up a head of steam, Stoke struck again. The ball was played long and Campbell got on to it in the left-wing area. He created space, cut inside and bent a shot out of the reach of Raya and in to the far corner. It was a goal out of nothing and seemed to have completely killed off Brentford.
Ivan Toney had a header blocked from a Dasilva cross and Mbeumo then got in behind and appeared to be well placed to score, but he cut back and James Chester was able to make a tackle. Fletcher had a shot blocked for the home side before Brentford finally found a way through. A clever flick from Toney sent a pass from Dasilva in to the path of Forss, he raced clear and blasted a shot past Davies and in to the net.
That goal came with 20 minutes remaining and Brentford upped their tempo as they looked to salvage something from the contest. They pushed Stoke back for a concerted period for the first time and worried the home side. Mbeumo thought he was through on goal before the flag of an assistant pulled him back and Dasilva curled a shot just over the bar. A Canós effort flew just wide and Dalsgaard met a Mbeumo corner with a header that might have flown in if Harry Souttar had not made a block inside his six-yard box.
Brentford had moved to play two up front at this point and Dasilva and Jensen were controlling the game in deeper midfield roles. Mbeumo flicked a Canós cross wide of goal and away from supporting players while Sam Vokes headed over at the other end. Brentford were pushing but the second from Forss was one Stoke presented to them. Souttar played a back pass that lacked power and Forss nipped in, he rounded Davies and then scored from an increasingly tight angle. It was a superb finish and gave The Bees four minutes to earn a point, but that time quickly slipped away and Stoke had the win.
Stoke City: Davies: Souttar, Collins, Chester; Smith, Mikel, Thompson, McClean; Brown (sub Oakley-Boothe 87 mins), Fletcher (sub Vokes 81 mins), Campbell (sub Tymon 73 mins)
Subs (not used): Gunn, Batth, Gregory, Powell
Bookings: Fletcher (81 mins), Oakley-Boothe (88 mins)
Brentford: Raya; Goode, Pinnock, Sørensen (sub Jensen h/t); Dalsgaard, Dasilva, Janelt (sub Forss 64 mins), Henry; Canós, Toney, Ghoddos (sub Mbeumo h/t)
Subs (not used): Daniels, Hammar, Thompson, Fosu
Bookings: Toney (40 mins)
League One: Wigan Athletic 1 Plymouth Argyle 1
From the club website:
Wigan Athletic 1
Keane 69
Argyle 1
Hardie 34
Argyle were denied all three points at Wigan Athletic, despite controlling the game for long periods.
Ryan Hardie gave the Greens a deserved first-half lead with a sublime finish but Wigan recovered well after the break to earn a draw through Will Keane.
The Pilgrims were relentless in their pursuit of a winner and unleashed an onslaught on the hosts, but Wigan threw bodies in front of every shot to deny the Greens.
Argyle manager Ryan Lowe made four changes to the side that slipped to defeat at Lincoln in midweek, opting for a fresh strike-force in the form of Hardie and Luke Jephcott, with Frank Nouble and Timmy Abraham dropping to the bench.
Ben Reeves was preferred to Panutche Camara in the engine room and Joe Edwards returned in the right wing-back role, pushing Byron Moore over to the opposite flank as replacement for the absent George Cooper.
Wigan boss John Sheridan, who spent two-and-a-half years at the Pilgrim helm, made just one switch from the narrow loss to Peterborough on Tuesday night, with Tom Pearce returning from injury to replace Keane.
There was a slight tweak in positioning for an Argyle defence still missing the experienced trio of Gary Sawyer, Niall Canavan and Scott Wootton, with Jerome Opoku occupying the central role and Kelland Watts on the left of the three, which was a reversal from midweek.
Argyle applied early pressure on a Wigan side looking to recover from three consecutive defeats, with a quick free-kick releasing Reeves for an inswinging cross that had the home defence creaking before they were rescued by an offside flag.
If Keane was hoping to recharge his batteries from the Peterborough game, the rest lasted just five minutes, as an injury to Viv Soloman-Otabor prompted a very swift return to action for the former Manchester United junior.
Excellent chasing down from Hardie had the Wigan defence back in panic mode on 12 minutes and the man on loan was denied an early test for goalkeeper Jamie Jones by a desperate recovery tackle from Curtis Tilt.
Danny Mayor opened his bag of tricks with a lovely run into the left channel but the cross was gobbled up by Jones, and he quickly countered with a long throw flicked on to Kai Nasimith, who crossed for Joe Garner to head tamely into the arms of Mike Cooper.
A fairly scrappy opening to the game was given a semblance of control by the neat passing of Reeves in midfield but it was generally a first quarter missing a clear-cut opportunity for either team.
A magical flick around the corner from Jephcott eventually prised open the Wigan defence for Hardie to make a dart into the area and it was credit to Tilt for scrambling back to block the shot. The subsequent corner was worked out to Tyrese Fornah for a thunderbolt from 25 yards that Jones could only palm clear.
The Pilgrims were dominating possession and territory, patiently building play through midfield to conjure their next chance, which came from a Watts cross headed over by Jephcott at the near post. Mayor then curled a low effort narrowly beyond the far post from 20 yards.
Argyle were knocking on the door and it deservedly opened on 34 minutes, thanks to a sloppy pass back across goal from Pearce and Hardie reacted superbly to calmly slot his first goal of the season beyond a stranded Jones.
It was the sort of assured finish that made Hardie such a hit in his first loan spell with the Greens last season and there was a delightful fluency in Argyle ranks, as Reeves and Mayor sliced through the Wigan midfield once again to spread a pass wide to Moore for an instant hit with his right-foot, but the curling attempt lacked sufficient dip to trouble Jones.
Wigan ended a gloomy first period for the hosts with a terrific deep cross from Lee Evans but Watts was in the right place to head clear the threat. Another decent delivery bounced to Garner for an ambitious overhead kick that scuttled comfortably wide to complete a very satisfactory first 45 minutes for Argyle.
Perhaps understandably, Sheridan changed his defensive make-up at half-time, replacing Darnell Johnson with teenager Adam Long was the chosen replacement.
Argyle, meanwhile, continued where they had left off, probing the home defence with a clever exchange between Jephcott and Mayor winning a corner, but Wigan coped well with the set-piece.
The home side did have the ball in the net when a deep cross from Naismith was headed back across goal for a slide-rule finish from Evans into the bottom corner but Argyle were spared by the assistant’s flag, although the decision was only reached after lengthy discussions between the officials.
Wigan were feeling mighty sore about the outcome and did have another pop at goal through Evans from a long-range free-kick, but Cooper snaffled the effort. Lowe reacted by introducing Nouble for Jephcott on the hour.
Tom James fizzed a 25-yarder over the bar for Wigan from the next attack but the game had generally descended into a disjointed affair in wet conditions at the DW Stadium.
Argyle had lost their rhythm and punishment arrived in the shape of an equalising goal, with Naismith dinking over a cross from the right and Keane ghosted in front of Cooper to glance a header into the waiting net.
The Pilgrims immediately sought to change the pattern by withdrawing Hardie for the fresh legs of Dom Telford and Argyle got going again as an attacking force with a surging run from Edwards, who fed the ball to Nouble for a shot charged down by the Wigan defence.
Fornah then dragged a speculative effort narrowly wide, just before welcoming a new midfield comrade, with Camara replacing Reeves. The new man had an instant impact, driving forward for a pass to Mayor, who cut inside but the shot was blocked, and Camara steered the rebound over.
A sublime exchange between Nouble and Camara then provided room for Moore to race into the area and his cut-back from the byline somehow just evaded the onrushing Telford. Argyle were laying siege on the Wigan goal, as Camara and Telford both had efforts charged down.
A long delay for treatment to Tilt halted the Green momentum and Wigan took advantage by winning successive free-kicks in dangerous areas, both thankfully wasted by the Latics.
Eight minutes of injury time gave Argyle the chance to keep up their search for a winner and superb strength from Nouble very nearly delivered, as he muscled his way into the box for a shot thwarted by a last-ditch tackle from Long.
Mayor and Moore then created another opening for Nouble, who saw his goalbound effort saved by Jones and the rebound ricocheted off a home defender for another corner. Will Aimson was next to have a shot deflected wide.
Argyle continued battering on the Wigan door until the final second but the winning goal refused to arrive.
Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): 1 Jamie Jones; 27 Tom James, 6 Darnell Johnson (32 Adam Long H-T), 4 Curtis Tilt, 3 Tom Pearce; 7 Kal Naismith, 8 Lee Evans, 12 Matt Palmer, 17 Viv Solomon-Otabor (10 Will Keane 6); 11 Gavin Massey, 14 Joe Garner (capt). Substitutes (not used): 25 Owen Evans (GK), 19 Ollie Crankshaw, 22 Kyle Joseph, 23 Chris Merrie, 30 Theo Aasgaard.
Booked: Tilt 41
Argyle (3-5-2): 1 Mike Cooper; 4 Will Aimson, 2 Kelland Watts, 24 Jerome Opoku; 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 14 Ben Reeves (28 Panutche Camara 74), 18 Tyrese Fornah, 10 Danny Mayor, 17 Byron Moore; 9 Ryan Hardie (11 Dom Telford 70), 31 Luke Jephcott (7 Frank Nouble 59). Substitutes (not used): 26 Jack Ruddy (GK), 19 Klaidi Lolos, 27 Ryan Law,, 29 Timmy Abraham.
Booked:
Referee: Scott Oldham
Attendance: N/A
League Two: Exeter City 3 Scunthorpe United 1
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