Stoke ‘got our rewards in the end’ – Steven Schumacher

Posted Sunday, April 07, 2024 by PA

Stoke boss Steven Schumacher felt his side got what they deserved as they recovered from 2-0 down to get a point against West Brom.

Second-half goals from Million Manhoef and Andre Vidigal, a rebound after his penalty was saved, secured the battling Potters a vital point in their survival bid at the bet365 Stadium.

The visitors had led through goals from Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston and Jed Wallace, but they had to settle for a point in the play-off race.

Schumacher said: “I thought we played really well. On the balance of the game we definitely deserved something.

“I thought we were the better team. The only negative from the performance was we didn’t take the chances that we created in the big moments, especially to go ahead in the game.

“West Brom were more clinical than us with their two chances but again we’ve shown plenty of character, we didn’t lose our composure or our faith. We kept going for it and got our rewards in the end.

“I told the boys I felt we were the better team and I asked them if they sensed that and they said they did.

“I told them to stick to the plan then because they agreed. And we wanted to keep playing the same tempo and keep going forward.

“We knew if we kept running forward it would tire West Brom out and with our energy at the end of the game we might get something out of it and that’s what happened.

“They got their second with their first attack in the second half. It was almost a smash and grab from an away team.

“Our players didn’t deviate from what we wanted to do and we got what we deserved in the end.”

The Baggies stretched their unbeaten run to nine but it is now three draws in a row, with seventh-placed Coventry just six points behind in the play-off race.

Boss Carlos Corberan praised his side’s clinical nature but was left wanting more after dropping two points from a commanding position.

He said: “They had more chances than us. We should have managed the game better. We were more accurate with our chances.

“Unfortunately, in attack we couldn’t dominate the game more. They started to create more problems as the game went on. That made them think they could achieve something.

“We tried until the end to go for three points and unfortunately we couldn’t score with two very good cutbacks Tom Fellows put in at the end.

“We missed the finishing in front of the goal at the end.

“We didn’t create enough in attack. We didn’t show enough personality in the first minutes of the game. The weather conditions affected us more than we expected.

“We need to compete better than we did early. The level we showed wasn’t enough to win three points.

“As a coach you want to create more chances because the more you create, the more chance you have to win the game.”