Stoke City were taught a lesson in discipline and game management on Thursday as Leeds United wiped the floor with them at Elland Road, inflicting a 5-0 scoreline on Michael OâNeillâs side. Â
With four games to go, Stoke arenât out of the woods in terms of relegation and a horrendous run-in awaits the Potters.
This was always going to be a tough game, but for 44 minutes, OâNeill will have been pleased with what he saw from his side. However, on the stroke of half-time, Tommy Smith needlessly lunged into Helder Costa, presenting Mateusz Klich with a penalty to open the scoring. He obliged.
Costa doubled the lead minutes after the break, with Liam Cooper, Pablo Hernandez and Patrick Bamford rubbing salt in the wound to leave Stoke 21st in the Championship table, a point clear of the relegation zone.
We begin to take a look at what went wrong for OâNeill at Elland Roadâ¦
Reckless Smith rips up the game plan
The opening 45 minutes at Elland Road were a real battle and whist Leeds had the better of the game, they hardly at Stoke on the ropes.
James McClean and Danny Batth combined to keep out Bamford and Tyler Roberts, but Leedsâ other efforts were all from distance and Jack Butland was only forced into one meaningful save.
However, as Costa threatened with a punching run towards the edge of the area, a rush of blood from Tommy Smith saw him dive into a tackle and concede a penalty.
On 45 minutes, Leeds had the lead through Klich and never looked back. Stoke had to come out and take the game to Marcelo Bielsaâs side in the second-half, playing into their hands.
That will never have been OâNeillâs game plan heading to West Yorkshire, he will have wanted his side to make things tense and really make Leeds work for their opening goal, just as Luton Town had done at Elland Road nine days earlier.
In the end, Smithâs challenge ripped up the game plan at the worst possible time.
Failure to react made things worse
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Minus Smithâs challenge and Klichâs penalty, it was a decent enough showing from Stoke in the opening 45 minutes, with OâNeillâs 3-4-3 system working well.
However, the half-time introduction of Pablo Hernandez heightened Leedsâ ability to retain the ball in midfield and the Stoke pairing of Sam Clucas and Jordan Cousins were chasing shadows.
The personnel in the XI wouldâve allowed OâNeill to shift to a 4-2-3-1 system, adding Nick Powell to Clucas and Cousins to try and stem Leedsâ flow.
That decision never came and Leeds found it far too easy to pull Stokeâs structure to pieces before punishing them through the lines.
Of course, when your game plan goes up in smoke on the stroke of half-time, it is difficult. However, youâve got to try and adapt.
Simply, Stoke and OâNeill didnât.
Off-field developments might well save them
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The table makes grim reading for Stoke at this stage; they sit 21st in the table and a point clear of Hull City, with the likes of Bristol City, Brentford and Nottingham Forest still to come.
A clash with Birmingham City is vital on Sunday and you feel a win there is needed if OâNeill is to have the best chance of keeping the Potters in the Championship.
However, what the table and fixture list doesnât tell you is the fact there is a point deduction hanging over Wigan Athletic and an EFL case facing Sheffield Wednesday.
If either of those clubs are deducted points, itâll throw them into the mix and potentially give Stoke a lifeline.
Of course, OâNeill shouldnât be relying on these factors and heâd be foolish to bank on them saving his side.
Yet, what happens at boardroom level elsewhere might just save Stokeâs skin.