Stoke City vs Rotherham United. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance22,601.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Rotherham at the bet365 Stadium as Andre Vidigal scored twice in a thumping opening win for Alex Neil's Potters
Saturday 5 August 2023 18:38, UK
New recruit Andre Vidigal enjoyed a dream debut as his double inspired Stoke to a comprehensive 4-1 Championship victory at home to 10-player Rotherham.
The hosts raced into an early lead with Ki-Jana Hoever - returning for a second loan spell with The Potters - firing in an emphatic opener inside five minutes.
A dominant first-half display was rewarded in added time as Vidigal, who was a summer arrival from Maritimo, netted a quickfire double to heap misery on The Millers.
Matt Taylor's half-time tactical tweaking sparked an instant impact as substitute Lee Peltier scored with his first touch to hand the visitors hope.
However, the early damage proved to be irreparable for Rotherham, who were reduced to 10 players after debutant Cafu was sent off.
Jacob Brown added a fourth with a late tap in as Stoke strode to an impressive and assured opening-day victory.
A productive summer in the Potteries had already seen 11 bodies arrive through the front door, with six new additions making their debuts in this encounter.
But it was a familiar face in Wolves loanee Hoever - who spent the second half of last season at the club - that handed the hosts a dream start.
A precise cross-field delivery from new club captain Josh Laurent found the onrushing Hoever, whose first-time volley crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.
Rotherham did threaten an unlikely equaliser when Ben Wiles was afforded space in the area, but his venomous strike was collected well by Mark Travers.
And that Millers' miss would prove costly, as they soon found themselves three goals behind after a frantic seven minutes of stoppage time.
Winger Vidigal - who scored eight goals in the Portuguese top flight last season - took little time to open his account on English shores.
Daniel Johnson's deep set-piece delivery was nodded back into the danger zone by Ben Wilmot with an unmarked Vidigal in position to slot home.
And the tricky forward was not done yet in an impressive first-half showing, finishing accurately on the rebound after Viktor Johansson thwarted Ryan Mmaee.
Disgruntled boss Taylor introduced Peltier at the interval and the defender looked to hand the away side a reprieve when he bundled home an effort immediately after the restart.
However, any chance of a Rotherham comeback was shelved when Cafu - a summer signing from Nottingham Forest - compounded a miserable afternoon by receiving his marching orders.
Star man Vidigal nearly completed his hat-trick when he met an accurate Hoever cross, but an instinctive Johansson save denied him a perfect introduction.
There was still time though for Stoke to add a fourth, with centre-back Ben Wilmot notching a second assist when Brown converted his flick-on to round off an emphatic win.
Stoke's Alex Neil:
"I thought we looked like an exciting team. We wanted to start the season well because there's been a lot of optimism and a lot of talk. But the talk was always going to stop, so to win in the manner in which we did was very pleasing. I thought the first goal was excellent and that set the tone, so to go on and score four goals was something we didn't do very often last season. And to do it with six debutants in the team and a few more new players who came on, that speaks volumes for where the lads are. To get some of the new guys to score and get some of the performances we got - and to win at home so emphatically - was very pleasing.
"It's hard not to pick him [Vidigal] (as man of the match) because he scored two goals and he had a header in the second half which their keeper made a wonderful save. He was really effective in the game. You can see his hunger to get into the middle of the box and get a goal and that's going to be vitally important for us this season."
Rotherham's Matt Taylor:
"It was a tough afternoon for us. They're a good team and they got on the front foot and we struggled to get any aspect of control. We did well to keep it at 1-0 for a large period of the first half and I was pleased that we showed enough character to stay in the game. But then (conceding) two goals in quick succession is really frustrating and it looked like a mountain to climb. There's lots to take from it in terms of where we have to improve, but character and personality-wise, we were better in the second half.
"A lot of teams go two or three behind and almost when you've got nothing to lose, you play differently when the pressure's off. Mentally we had nothing to lose and we asked them to show a little bit more belief; they started to show it but when Cafu got sent off, it was a difficult one for us. We weren't sharp enough, bright enough or good enough in that first half and we know we can be better. We've caught a good team on a very good day and a poor day for ourselves, but we know we can improve in certain areas."
