Stoke continued their unbeaten run to the start of the season by securing a 1-0 victory against Nottingham Forest.
Josh Tymon scored the winning goal shortly after the hour mark following an excellent period of play for the Potters.
Tom Smith played in Jacob Brown to flick the ball onto Steven Fletcher, who then backheeled a pass to Joe Allen, the Welshman finding Tymon sprinting to meet the pass and slot it past Brice Samba. It was a beautifully constructed play that resulted in a goal that Stoke deserved for their efforts.
As for Forest, their horrendous start to the season goes on as they remain without a point after four games and sit bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.
If there were not questions surrounding Chris Hughton’s future at the club before the game, there definitely will be now. The travelling support were heard chanting ‘sacked in the morning’ seconds after Stoke’s goal went in.
For Forest fans, their afternoon got worse as it was announced over the public address system that all trains back to Nottingham had been cancelled.
The first half saw very few opportunities for both sides, but it was the Potters who had the best chance, which came in the opening five minutes of the game.
Smith nearly gave the hosts an early lead after a wonderful deep ball in from Tymon. The wing-back’s cross was met by a sliding Smith, whose effort narrowly missed the target.
There was a large handball appeal inside the penalty area on the half-hour mark, but Gaetan Bong would have considered himself incredibly unlucky to have been penalised for that.
Despite a bright spell of play, Stoke failed to test Samba in the first half, but after the break they began to dominate Forest.
Hughton’s side could not put a string of passes together as Stoke used the width well and delivered countless crosses, putting Forest under pressure.
Fletcher should have put Stoke ahead on the hour mark. It was Allen who intercepted a loose ball on the edge of the 18-yard box before slipping in Brown.
His effort took a deflection and found its way to Fletcher, who struck the ball straight down Samba’s throat. The experienced frontman should have done better.
But Stoke got the goal they needed in the second half and Forest never looked like getting an equaliser.
For Stoke, life is looking good. They have three wins from a possible four and have just brought in Romaine Sawyers from West Brom.
Hughton’s days may be numbered and the fixture list does not get easier, they face old foes Derby at Pride Park next weekend.
