Stoke captain Ben Gibson heads in late winner to see off Derby

Posted Saturday, November 02, 2024 by PA

Ben Gibson headed in a late winner as Stoke beat Derby 2-1 in the Championship.

The Potters went into the lead early on through Tom Cannon’s ninth-minute penalty after he was taken down by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

Derby, somewhat against the run of play, levelled things up in bizarre fashion after Gibson’s header beat his own goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, who got the last touch as the ball went into the net.

But captain Gibson secured all three points for the home side with eight minutes left.

The first chance of the game fell to the away side after Junior Tchamadeu fouled Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the edge of the Stoke box, but the resulting free-kick by Joe Ward was saved by Johansson.

However, it was home side who took the lead. A delightful through ball from Enda Stevens found the advancing run of Cannon, who went down in the area after contact from the Derby goalkeeper.

Cannon picked himself up off the turf and dispatched the spot-kick from 12 yards into the bottom right corner.

On-loan Brighton midfielder Andrew Moran should have really have made it 2-0, but his sweeping left-footed effort went wide.

Stoke were dominant in the opening 45 minutes, with the back-line limiting the away side to only three shots and as many touches in their box in the first period.

Cannon almost grabbed his second of the game just before the hour mark.

A fast-flowing counter attack saw the ball land at the feet of Bae Jun-ho who touched it off to Cannon. The 21-year-old took one touch to set himself before taking aim, only to be kept out by a combination of the goalkeeper and Erin Cashin.

Moments later, Zetterstrom made a sensational stop to deny Jun-ho after heading a cross from Stevens goalwards.

At the other end, Johansson, who had been solid all game, had a moment of madness in the Stoke goal.

A cushioned header from Gibson should have been easily claimed by the goalkeeper, but the Swedish international was nowhere to be seen and despite his recovery effort, he could not prevent the ball from joining him in the back of his own net.

But with eight minutes of the 90 remaining, the home side regained their advantage as an inswinging corner from Jun-ho was headed home by defender Gibson.

Stoke held on to record only their second league win under Narcis Pelach since he took over from Steven Schumacher back in September.