Jack Mcglynn's stoppage-time strike before half-time set Stoke City on their way to a two-one win at Watford on Saturday, 12 September, with Eric Junior Bocat adding a second early in the second half. Amin Nabizada pulled one back for the home side in the ninetieth minute, but it was not enough to deny Mark Robins's side a seventh win of the campaign.
McGlynn breaks the deadlock
Mcglynn found the net in the forty-fifth plus fourth minute to send Stoke City in ahead at the break. Bocat doubled the lead in the fifty-seventh minute, finishing off an assist from Lamine Cissé, who was replaced by George Hirst eight minutes later. Nabizada's late goal, teed up by Edo Kayembe, came too late for Watford to find an equaliser.
Dominant on the ball
Stoke City controlled possession throughout, holding sixty per cent of the ball and firing eighteen shots to Watford's six, six of them on target against the home side's two. The visitors also won eight corners to Watford's five and conceded just six fouls compared to Watford's fourteen. Robins lined his side up in a three-five-two, with Viktor Johansson, Ben Wilmot and Michael Talovierov at the back and El Hadji Djibril Soumaré booked for a foul in the thirty-third minute. Watford, set up in a four-two-three-one by A. Dionisi, saw Iker Bravo cautioned for dissent as early as the nineteenth minute and made four changes across the game, including Rocco Vata and Amin Nabizada arriving together in the fifty-eighth minute.
Where it leaves Stoke City
The win keeps Stoke City fifteenth in the Championship on seven points from six games, sitting seven points behind leaders West Ham, with a goal difference of minus one after nine scored and ten conceded this season. It is the club's third win in their last five outings, a run that reads WDWWL, following a one-one draw at Cardiff on 8 September and a four-nil home win over Charlton three days earlier. Anyone tracking the club's up-and-down start can check the standings to see how those results stack up against the rest of the division.
Supporters can plan ahead using the fixtures list, while the current squad page shows the players Robins has available after Saturday's win, and further stats from the Watford game are available for those wanting a fuller breakdown of the display.
