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Stoke City fans are on cloud nine after beating Birmingham City, but it’s not their goal that they’re still raving about.
The Potters saw off the Blues 1-0 at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday, with Bosun Lawal’s first half goal enough to seal victory.
Mark Robins’ side sit second in the Championship table after the club’s best ever start to a second tier season after six games, and are just one point behind league leaders Middlesbrough.
One moment between Stoke player Ben Wilmot and Birmingham’s Jay Stansfield sums up the Staffordshire outfit’s desire to push towards promotion.
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Stoke City fans love Ben Wilmot’s tackle on Jay Stansfield
With Stoke defending their 1-0 lead, Birmingham striker Stansfield almost went one-on-one with Viktor Johansson as he pushed to get the visitors something out of the game.
Stand-in captain Wilmot quickly took the matter into his own hands, expertly sliding in behind him and taking the ball before running off out of his own half.
Stansfield was left on the deck after catching his ankle on the turf, with Birmingham’s physios brought on quickly.
Stoke clipped up the moment on their social media channels, and their fans flooded the comments with praise for their defender.
“Fantastic tackle Ben, well done” one wrote on X. “Tackle of the season.”
A second, referring to Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, said: “If Van Dijk does this, we’d be hearing about it for weeks.”
“Never shot off my seat so quick to applaud such a superb tackle. Well in Wilmot,” another added.
Mark Robins making Ben Wilmot captain in Ben Gibson’s absence was a masterstroke
Captain Ben Gibson missed a large chunk of pre-season due to injury, and is yet to appear in the league this season. He started against Walsall in the Carabao Cup, before coming off the bench against Bradford City.
In his absence, Wilmot has been given the armband by Mark Robins and fans feel that he has more than stepped up to the plate.
He has played every minute of every league game so far this season, partnering with Lawal.
A strong defence is something the Potters have been missing, and the stiff competition for the spaces in their back line will only benefit them.