Stoke 4 (Lowe 25, 82, Tezgel 53, Hubner OG 73) Wolves 1 (Holman 66)
Wolves under-21s suffered a heavy defeat against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Friday evening.
Despite Wolves’ efforts going forward and finding the net through Fletcher Holman, they were tested by a strong Stoke City outfit who were clinical on the night.
James Collins’ team were bright and determined in the opening exchanges and created various chances through Holman, Dani Angel and Wesley Okoduwa.
Wolves made good use of the space on each flank, with Okoduwa and Ethan Sutherland advancing forward and delivering several inviting crosses.
Despite being in control of the fixture, Nathan Lowe tapped home in the 25th minute to give Stoke the lead.
Wolves were forced to fight back after the goal, the hosts enjoyed long spells of possession, making it more challenging to break them down.
Half-time | Stoke 1-0 Wolves
Nine minutes into the second period, Emre Tezgel directed the ball into the bottom corner with an effort from distance, making it an uphill battle for Collins’ side.
Lowe was through on goal one minute later and forced Josh Gracey into an athletic save as the Old Gold held on.
Wolves still showed hope, however, and were inches away from reducing the deficit when Holman’s header narrowly drifted over the crossbar.
Holman did eventually find the back of the net, as his deflected strike sailed into the top corner with 25 minutes left to play and Wolves had hope.
To their disappointment, the Old Gold went further behind when the ball deflected off Justin Hubner and into his own net, before Lowe secured his second goal of the evening with a lobbed effort to make sure of the Premier League 2 points.
Full-time | Stoke 4-1 Wolves
LINEUPS
Stoke City | Cooper, Griffin, Dixon, Smtih (Gromek 65), Trialist (Griffiths 65) , Curley, Mears, Lipsiuc, Lowe, Tezgel, Giani (Agina 60).
Subs not used | Brooks, Chibueze.
Wolves | Gracey, Okoduwa, Sutherland, Voice, Meupiyou (Reynolds 80), Hubner (Mabete 86), Edozie, Bradbury, Angel (Lopes 62), Rawlings (Whittingham 62), Holman.
Subs not used | Keto-Diyawa.
Report by Thomas Gibson
