News from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City win their first two matches of the season against Rotherham United and West Bromwich Albion
Sniffer Andre Vidigal can help finally swing tight games in Stoke City’s favour, hopes Alex Neil.
Left winger Vidigal has scored three times in one start and one cameo to start life at his new club, having joined Stoke from Maritimo in July for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.
He scored eight times in a Maritimo side that was relegated from the Portuguese top flight last term and was a regular on the scoresheet in promotion campaigns with Estoril and Fortuna Sittard before that.
“He smells a goal,” said Neil after a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup. “That’s his best quality. I think I said this a couple of weeks ago before he’d even scored.
“If you describe people’s best qualities, obviously with Wesley it’s his physical stature. Everyone has got different qualities but Vidigal’s best quality is knowing where the goal is and those players are vital in tight games when it’s nip and tuck and there’s nothing in it and you need someone to take an opportunity. He’s scored three goals in one and a half games, not even that.”
There were 28 league games last season when the margin between the two sides was only one goal or it was a draw. There were 36 in the season before that and 33 in 2020/21.
But they have too rarely gone in Stoke’s favour. They only won four games by a one-goal margin last season, nine in 2021/22 and nine in 2020/21.
In all in the five seasons back in the Championship, Stoke either drew or won or lost games by a single goal a total of 155 times out of 230 matches. They have won 34 of those, drawn 66 and lost 55.
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