Stoke City vs Plymouth Argyle. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle at bet365 Stadium on Saturday | Ki-Jana Hoever, Million Manhoef and Wouter Burger score as Steven Schumacher's side all but secure safety
Saturday 20 April 2024 18:23, UK
Steven Schumacher claimed the bragging rights over his former employers Plymouth as Stoke eased to a 3-0 win.
Schumacher, who led the Pilgrims to the League One title last season before leaving for the Potters in December, was given a frosty reception by the vocal visitors.
But it was the new Stoke boss who had the last laugh as the hosts did the talking on the pitch thanks to goals from their Dutch trio.
A rapid-fire double from Ki-Jana Hoever and Million Manhoef before the interval helped Schumacher's side take a big step closer to survival.
And a Wouter Burger strike in stoppage time capped an impressive display as Stoke climb to 17th - six points above the relegation zone with only two fixtures remaining.
Plymouth's three-match unbeaten start under new interim boss Neil Dewsnip was ended as they now sit four points clear of the drop zone.
Dewsnip, who was Schumacher's PE teacher, Everton academy coach and director of football at Argyle, had enjoyed a bright run since replacing Ian Foster.
Victories against Rotherham and Leicester had eased fears of an immediate return to the third tier.
However, it was Stoke, with relegation concerns of their own, who raced out of the blocks with Tyrese Campbell and ex-Pilgrim Luke Cundle both going close early on.
Plymouth lynchpin Morgan Whittaker, who was named in the Championship Team of the Season this week, nearly justified why he is catching the attention of many.
His dipping strike from range was tipped over by Daniel Iversen before a threatening free-kick whistled agonisingly wide of the top corner.
The Potters assumed control and almost snatched the advantage, only for Hoever's venomous effort to cannon off the crossbar.
But the Wolves loanee was not left reeling for too long as he advanced into the box and finished with aplomb for a third goal in five games.
The shaky visitors were pounced upon as Stoke capitalised with a second just four minutes later thanks to Hoever's compatriot Manhoef.
The January recruit from Vitesse collected the ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a rocket into the bottom corner beyond a helpless Michael Cooper.
Plymouth have never won at Stoke in 20 attempts across their 138-year existence, and Dewsnip attempted to spur a late fightback with a string of changes.
But the fresh legs could not sway the Potters' momentum as another former Pilgrim Niall Ennis twice came close to adding a third.
That responsibility ultimately fell to substitute Burger, who sealed an important victory deep into stoppage time.
Stoke's Steven Schumacher:
"It was a big day; I had my eye on this game since I came here. I would have hoped both teams would have been safe by now, so there could have been a bit less pressure.
"It's weird when you come up against people who you are friends with and you have a feeling in your belly all week that's not nice.
"I've got a lot of affection for Argyle and always want them to do well, but today was about Stoke and trying to get three points that we needed.
"It was probably the best home performance from us; it was really good all-round.
"We knew how difficult the game would be and if our performance wasn't right we would have got hurt by Argyle today.
"But credit to the players, they were brilliant from the first minute and, in the big moments, we showed some composure and quality.
"We stressed all week that there was going to be a bit of noise around the game and everybody understood how important it was.
"It's not done yet; it's important that we get in on Monday and have another good week and focus on Southampton.
"You never know in this league, and you have to keep going until it's mathematically secure and at the moment it's not."
Plymouth's Neil Dewsnip:
"We're really disappointed to lose - we knew how important the game was for us.
"Stoke were by far the better team on the day and credit to them.
"After the first 35 minutes, the crowd seemed to get really involved and Stoke got a big lift from that.
"We didn't handle that emotion particularly well and I was disappointed with our performance in the last 10 minutes of the first half.
"We showed immaturity, which is something we'll address and look to do better in the future.
"We'll take the lessons; Millwall's going to be a tough place to play and we need to be ready for that.
"We need to handle moments in the game much better.
"The commitment is definitely there (from us); sometimes in football you have to hold your hands up and say your opponents were better.
"Last Friday night, the same group of players gave everything physically and emotionally, and that might have taken it out of us more than we realised.
"Our goal is to stay in the Championship and we're two games out from doing that.
"If you'd have given us that at the start of the season, we'd have grabbed that opportunity, so we're in a positive mental state."
