Stoke City: Narcis Pelach has found surprise solution to issue that plagued Steven Schumacher .
Stoke City look to have shored up their defence in recent games, and one selection decision certainly paid off for Narcis Pelach in their 0-0 draw against Swansea City last time out.
The Potters have not been known for their defensive stability in recent times, particularly under old boss Steven Schumacher, as they lost by three or more goals on four occasions in the nine months that he was in charge.
As a result, Spainard Pelach has had to make sure that they are not as leaky at the back, and while it has taken a bit of time for his new ideas to bed in, their goalless deadlock in South Wales definitely showed signs of progress, and reinforced the fact that Pelach looks to have found a solution in a position that troubled Schumacher in the early stages of this term.
Ben Wilmot was the Potters’ starting right-back against Swansea as Stoke kept their first clean sheet in six outings, as he also was against Portsmouth when Stoke conceded just once to a break-away goal and hit six in return.
Wilmot has been preferred to Junior Tchamadeu in those last two games, and has stepped up impressively ahead of the 20-year-old, so should be the first-choice at right-back now for the foreseeable future as a result of his performances.
Ben Wilmot has impressed at right-back
ben wilmot
Wilmot is no stranger to playing on the right of the back four for Stoke, which Pelach presumably will have been aware of, given his almost immediate willingness to try him out there in high-pressure games.
The 24-year-old has been at Stoke for over three years now, with 16 of his 120 games for the club coming at right back, and it has come as somewhat of a surprise to see him deployed there once again, but Potters fans will not be complaining after two very solid showings.
He was handed a starting berth there against Portsmouth last week up against a tricky left-winger in Josh Murphy, and almost set the tone straight away as his long-range shot in the first minute crashed against the crossbar, then went on to win 75% of his ground duels, make five recoveries, and complete six passes into the final third.
The trip to Swansea was no different, as he lined up next to Michael Rose and behind Lewis Koumas at the Swansea.com Stadium, and produced a very solid performance as the Potters kept a clean sheet and the hosts’ left-wing danger man Eom Ji-sung was kept relatively quiet throughout.
