Heck of a home run can steel a play-off
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BLUNT Blades need to sharpen up and win their home games to get back in the race for promotion.
This was only Sheffield United’s second loss in 15 league games, but it sets them back in a tight race for the play-offs.
The visitors begin a long run of successive games at Bramall Lane against QPR on Tuesday.
Then it’s Bournemouth and Reading, giving them a chance to make up ground lost in the Potteries.
“Our home form is good and we have to take advantage” said boss Paul Heckingbottom.
“We have five out of seven at Bramall Lane.”
United have not won away in their last five.
“We didn’t play well and I’m disappointed,” added Heckingbottom.
“Even though we were below our level we could have got a point.”
Without his four senior strikers, injuries are a worry for Heckingbottom but he is hopeful of getting one back for Tuesday.
“We lacked quality in the final third,” he added.
So it was ironic the only goal came from a Blades player. Stoke’s Josh Tymon got the ball from sub Tyrese Campbell, and fired a deflected shot off John Egan past his own keeper.
“We haven’t had many go our way,” said Stoke boss Michael O’Neill. “So I’ll happily take that.
“We were the better team in the second half.
“We tried to get Tymon forward – it worked well. He’d put in a few good crosses and then he gets that goal for us.
“We created more in the second half.”
STOKE: Bonham 6; Wilmot 6, Jagielka 7, Harwood-Bellis 7,Tymon 7; Allen 6, Thompson 6, Vrancic 6 (Sawyers (63rd) 6); Brown 6, Maja 6 (Fletcher 86th), Wright-Phillips 6 (Campbell (70th) 5)
Foderingham 6; Davies 6, Egan 6, Robinson6; Baldock 6, Berge 6, Norwood 6 (Ndiay (69th) 4), Fleck 6, Norrington-Davies 6;Gibbs-White 8 (Osborn 79th); Jebbison 5 (Osula (78th)
Morgan Gibbs-White
D Webb