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rank said that can be their otivation. He added: “It’s been an nbelievable run, and I said to em, whether it takes ne or four games now go up, I will be proud them at the end.” The Bees still have nly themselves to ame, though. Despite mustering ome chances at the nd, they were timid nd uninspired against
Stoke side motivated y their chance to get athematically safe from relegation. Frank’s men can point to a disallowed penalty shout in the dying seconds, when James McClean pushed Ollie Watkins.
But for a side whose front three have scored 57 goals this season, they didn’t create enough.
Only a fierce shot from defender Ethan Pinnock, which was brilliantly stopped by Stoke keeper Adam Davies in the final moments, counted as a serious threat late on.
Davies twice saved from Bryan Mbeumo too, but Stoke’s tough approach to the game was the key element.
The no-nonsense Potters seemed to physically dominate their
STOKE CITY BRENTFORD 2 ............. Shots on Target ........... 2 3
............. Shots off Target ........... 2 7
............... Blocked Shots ............ 0 4
..................... Corners ................... 14 4
....................... Fouls ..................... 2 6
..................... Offsides .................. 2 3
................. Yellow Cards .............. 0 0 ................... Red Cards ................
0 56.7 ..... Passing Success %.. 80.9 55 ................. Duels Won .............. 44 70
........... Duel Success % ........ 56 25 .................... Tackles ................... 52.0 6
........ Tackles Won % ......... 50 30.9 ......... Possession % ........
69.1 51.6 ....... Territorial Adv % .... 48.4 268 ............ Total Passes ...........
14 611 ............... Total Crosses ............
16 160 ............... Lost Balls ..............
176 56 ................ Recoveries ...............
71 36.4 ........ 1stHalfPoss% ......
63.6 25.6 ....... 2nd Half Poss % ......
74.4 opponents. They also created some decent chances, striker Gregory tapping in after a mistake from Brentford keeper David Reya in spilling a Sam Clucas shot, proving the moment that confirmed their Championship status.
Boss Michael O’Neill said: “Yeah, of course we are satisfied. When I came in, I thought it was a hard job.
“We had too many players who didn’t want to be at the club, and too many loan players who didn’t want to contribute either.
“So we had to turn around and get players with more hunger – and we managed that.”