Stoke City man reveals plan to kill threat of 'best in the country' Sheffield Wednesday fans

Stoke City’s team selection and game plan for their 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday was based in no small part around the threat of a rocking Hillsborough, according to Potters boss Steven Schumacher.
By Alex Miller
Published 14th Apr 2024, 07:00 BST

In front of the biggest S6 crowd of the season, a second half Liam Palmer goal was cancelled out by Stoke substitute Luke Cundle, with Owls boss Danny Röhl left rueing the number of chances his side spurned in the match. Results elsewhere meant Wednesday’s deficit on the safety spots was opened to one point and they dropped to 22nd in the table owing to Birmingham City’s surprise win over Coventry City.

Stoke set up to slow the game down and frustrate in the first half. Asked how much of their set-up was designed to quieten the Wednesday home crowd, Schumacher told The Star: “It was huge. The Sheffield Wednesday fans are some of the best in the country, definitely. It’s always a good atmosphere coming out here and I was expecting them, especially after what happened in midweek, to be right behind the team and they were.

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“We had that similar experience that last year when both teams were trying to win the league and they play a big part in it. The team was picked for that reason, to withstand that pressure, and that’s what they did.”

Schumacher admitted the fact that a Wednesday win would draw them level on points was a big part of his mindset heading into the clash, which saw them withstand periods of Owls pressure. Röhl opted for a more direct style of play as displayed in the second half of their Norwich City comeback on Tuesday evening.

Schumacher continued: “We knew that it was going to be a tough start to the game after they had such a brilliant result in midweek, coming from two goals down. They’d played in a certain style and we expected them to do so again. We expected to come under the cosh. We didn’t think we’d be under as much pressure as we were, but credit to them, they started the game really well with the crowd behind them.

“There were loads of crosses into the box, loads of corners and we’ve defended them really well. The goalkeeper made a really good save in that spell and we got stronger as the half went on. We started to put them under pressure, we showed brilliant character and got ourselves in the game. We changed the shape and got some fresh legs on the wing where there was a bit more space. We deserved to get something from the game.”