Shotton - 6 - Good going forward, tidy distribution and powerful in the hair.
Dickinson - 7 - Positive display, always happy to get forward and covered well on numerous occasions. Did well in first appearance of season
Sonko - 6 - Looked ropey at times but solid for the majority. Distribution was poor though
Cort - 6 - Stupid booking brought an end to a proud record but looked fairly solid other than that. Marking wasn't upto much at times as men were left free in the box on numerous occasions.
Soares - 5 - Effort but no direction. Desperately short of confidence and struggling to think what to do with the ball at his feet. Coudl do with a successful loan spell.
Tonge - 7 - Roamed around, looking for opening as he played on both wings and up front during the course of the night. Final ball never arrived but a positive display none the less and one of promise. Failure to stay in position when in midfield may hamper his chances of a run in the first team.
Amdy Faye - 6 - Showed good pressure when chasing the ball but distribution was shaky at best.
Pugh - 6 - Great engine to get up and down, without much on the ball action. When he did see the ball he kept it simple
Cresswell - 7 - Full of running and looked dangerous throughout. Decision making let him down a few times whereas a lack of bodies forward didn't help when he looked up to pick out a teammate
Kitson - 8(Man of the Match) - First goal was a cracker, well worth waiting 14 months for...honest! Build up play was fantastic and Fuller will be licking his lips looking at some of the flick ons by the guy on course to replace the stricken Beattie. Looks a different player this season and will hopefully push on from here
Subs:
Griffin - 7 - Dependable and showed experience whilst got forward to give the team extra width. Pace isn't there to be a Premier League regular but stands out at this level.
Davies - 7 - Powerful in the air, great reading of the game he looked impressive but worries over his overall fitness and lack of pace that goes hand in hand with it will probably keep him out of the side until that gets sorted via games like these and a possible loan spell. Best display in a Stoke shirt
Moult - 6 - Plenty of effort from the in form 17-year-old striker on debut. play 70 minutes, including extra time, and started off by keeping it simple. Was outmuscled a few times but that strength will come with experience, probably out on loan, and age. The more the game wore on the more he opened up and will take this away and build on this with the reserves and academy sides.