TY-MELY RETURN FOR CAMPBELL BUT POWELL INJURY IS BLOW FOR POTTERS
DOMINIC Solanke struck a second half winner to preserve Bournemouth’s unbeaten start to the campaign, and inflict a first home loss of 2021/22 upon Michael O’neill’s men.
The Potters searched for a leveller with Jordan Thompson rattling the woodwork, before the returning Tyrese Campbell twice went close during the latter stages.
Here are five things we learned from the tightlycontested fixture at the bet365 Stadium...
POWELL INJURY A HUGE CONCERN
Michael O’neill will be keeping everything crossed that Nick Powell’s injury prognosis is nothing too serious.
The departure of the talismatic midfielder was a huge blow to Stoke’s chances of upsetting the league-leaders.
Powell has scored six goals in nine appearances for the Potters this term, and was doing his utmost to win back possession for his side when disaster struck.
The former Manchester United man managed to nip in front of Jefferson Lerma to steal the ball, but the Cherries man attempted to retrieve it and accidentally raked his studs down the back of Powell’s Achilles. You could see the severity of the incident almost immediately as the Stoke man was floored in clear distress.
To his credit, he somehow attempted to soldier on, but it was only ever going to be a brief, and desperate, return to the field, before he hobbled off, aided by the physio, a few moments later. Every Stoke supporter will be praying that the injury doesn’t rule such a key component of O’neill’s armoury out for too long!
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The injury to Powell is likely to throw open the door for somebody to make their way back into the starting line-up at Millwall this weekend. O’neill made the bold decision to drop both Romaine Sawyers and Mario Vrancic to the bench ahead of kick-off, but both will be hoping for an immediate return at the Den. Vrancic would likely be the favourite having replaced Powell midway through the first-half, although the Stoke boss could throw a curveball and introduce one of his striking options to the fray. That would likely mean an alteration in formation, returning to a front two, with Jacob Brown, you would expect, a shoe-in to start against Gary Rowett’s side.
CAMPBELL RETURN A MAJOR POSITIVE
Yes, Tyrese Campbell was only on the pitch for 20 minutes. Yes, he is going to need time to get right back up to speed. And yes, we are going to have to be patient with him...
But, within his cameo against the Cherries, the striker displayed the qualities that are going to benefit this Stoke City side between now and the end of the season.
A sharper, more clearminded Campbell may have netted a couple of goals, but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that the lad just possesses that knack of being able to make things happen.
He was in the right place at the right time when he clipped a strike straight into the palms of Mark Travers, and he then displayed those jet-heels to get in-behind the Bournemouth backline five minutes from time.
On that occasion, he wasn’t able to back it up with the potency we came to expect from him prior to his injury – but that will come, in time. It was a more than promising return to action for a player who has spent the past 11 months rehabilitating from a serious injury.
TIME TO BUILD AGAIN AT HQ
How encouraging would it have been to have extended that unbeaten home start to the season, in all competitions, to nine? Unfortunately, it was a bridge too far as Bournemouth became the first side since April to depart the bet365 with all three points. O’neill spoke of the importance of home form ahead of the start of the new campaign, and his players have delivered on that front – registering 16 of their 21 points in North Staffordshire. As disappointing as this defeat is, the Potters have to bounce straight back from it and prove this was just a blip - a one-off - and nothing more.
It is imperative the side start to notch up a few more wins on the road, but their fortunes this season will largely be determined by their form on home soil. Cardiff, Peterborough, Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Derby are now set to visit these parts before the turn of the year. And those fixtures, at least on paper, offer O’neill’s men a realistic chance of building upon an impressive start to the term at HQ.
DAVIES UNDER PRESSURE?
There will be those championing for Joe Bursik to return to the side following Adam Davies’ role in Dominic Solanke’s goal. The Welsh international, below, will be the first to admit that he should have dealt with Ryan Christie’s initial strike with far more conviction.
But any suggestions that he should make way for Bursik on the back of that mistake are pretty harsh.
That said, O’neill has already shown he isn’t afraid to make bold and telling calls on the goalkeeping front, having removed Bursik following a disappointing afternoon at Derby last month.
Is there a case for Davies to suffer the same fate? For some, quite possibly. But others would be against switching the keepers for a second time. The forthcoming Carabao Cup tie is likely to serve as Bursik’s best opportunity of putting himself back in the picture for a Championship return.