Ben Pearson and Sorba Thomas got the goals as Stoke ended their three-game winless run with a 2-1 victory at home to Swansea.
Defender Pearson hit a sweetly-struck opener late in the first half and Thomas got the second after an hour as the Potters collected only their second win in seven.
Stoke captain Ben Wilmot had a terrific chance to open the scoring after nine minutes. He was on hand to complete a precise passing move, but could not apply the finish to Million Manhoef’s pullback, sending the ball the wrong side of the post.
Sorba Thomas scored his fourth goal in five games to put Stoke 2-0 up
The visitors had stopped the rot after their six-game winless run, clocking up back-to-back victories ahead of their trip to the Potteries.
And Vitor Matos’ side had their share of openings in the first half, with Josh Tymon shooting narrowly wide of the far post, and Zan Vipotnik coming off second best in a one-on-one with keeper Viktor Johansson after a neat through-ball by Eom Ji-sung.
But the Swans’ best chances came from a set-piece from Tymon’s corner shortly before the half-hour mark. Johansson got down well to get a hand to Cameron Burgess’ header and Liam Cullen was thwarted at close range by Junior Tchamadeu as he tried to turn home the loose ball.
Stoke looked dangerous as the first half wore on, and Eric Bocat teased a curling cross in for Robert Bozenik eight yards out, but the striker could not direct his diving header on target.
Three minutes before the break, however, central defender Pearson produced a wonderful strike to give Stoke the lead.
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Ben Pearson fires Stoke into the lead with this rocket of a goal against Swansea.
Under pressure from Bae Jun-ho, Swansea’s Goncalo Franco could only nudge the ball into open space 25 yards from his own goal. The advancing Pearson ran onto it and let fly with a fine effort, sending the ball beyond Lawrence Vigouroux and inside the post.
Stoke should have had a second just moments into the second half when Tatsuki Seko crossed into the box, Jun-ho’s header clearing the bar.
Jun-ho made amends on the hour mark, providing the cross for Thomas to double the hosts’ lead. The Korean wrong-footed two defenders with his ball from the right and Thomas arrived right on cue to finish clinically and take his season’s tally to eight.
Stoke threatened to take the game away from Swansea with Manhoef, Ashley Phillips and Jun-ho going close.
Vipotnik then gave Swansea hope with 12 minutes left, making it 2-1 from Melker Widell’s ball in from the left, the striker also making it eight for the season.
Their frantic efforts after that strike proved fruitless, however, and with some, at times, desperate defending, Stoke saw out seven minutes of stoppage time to claim the victory.
The managers
Stoke’s Mark Robins:
“We’ve been playing pretty well but it can have an impact on confidence. It’s part of the game, it’s part of the Championship and we’ve played some really good teams, three away from home. It’s frustrating when you’re not winning but I think we’ve been pretty good.
“The six changes I wasn’t too worried about because they’ve all played games, they weren’t coming in from the cold.
“We’re lucky we’ve got some really good, talented players, and I’m hoping they start to really believe in themselves as much as everybody else in the building.
“The two goals were absolutely outstanding. I was glad Pearo shot because normally he’ll take it out of his feet and play it wide or whatever. He has doubts about himself but it’s a great effort, a really clean strike and a brilliant finish.
“Sorba is unbelievable because he keeps going. He’s not had a breather, I can’t get him one. He’s been a goal threat in most games and he keeps churning it out because he’s been so good for us and we’d miss him greatly if he were to come out of the team.”
Swansea’s Vitor Matos:
“I’m disappointed not to get something from the game. In the second half, we came back into it. Of course we wanted to take something out of the game. When you come to Stoke, you need to grab the game from the beginning.
“We had opportunities, but when we were high up the pitch, we wanted to be there for more time, and then we suffered.
“Then, in the second half we suffered when we were trying to change a few things. We tried to get back in the game, we scored to make it 2-1 and then had another chance but, of course, we didn’t get the result we wanted.
“We need to keep improving, and we need to keep going. We need to start to be a team that really wants to compete against everyone in every place we go. For that, we need to do a lot of things right. We’ve a few other things we need to keep improving, but the Championship is about points and about getting the results, and that’s what we need to get as well.
“How we do it? With training, focus and concentration in the next game, that’s what we need to do from now on.”
