Mark Robins celebrates Stoke staying perfect with win over Southampton

Mark Robins hailed an outstanding result as 10-man Stoke won 2-1 at Southampton to retain their place at the top of the Championship table.

Second-half goals from Lewis Baker and Sorba Thomas were enough to see the Potters maintain a 100 per cent start to the season, despite having Divin Mubama sent off.

Robins said: “I thought it was a brilliant game.

“With 11 players, we were really good and looked a real threat. Everybody, to a man, worked their socks off.

“We shot ourselves in the foot with the sending off against a team who like to switch the ball to make things difficult.

“The depth of their squad is a joke for the Championship.”

Jay Robinson was unlucky not to have put Southampton ahead in the 43rd minute when he struck the left post with a low shot from Flynn Downes’ pass before hitting the same upright on the rebound.

With the game still goalless, Viktor Johansson pulled off a brilliant save to stop Taylor Harwood-Bellis scoring with a header from Ryan Fraser’s corner.

Baker broke the deadlock for Stoke nine minutes into the second half, firing in the loose ball after Gavin Bazunu had done well to prevent Nathan Wood scoring an own goal.

Stoke were then reduced to 10 men when Mubama was given a second booking for diving as he went down under Bazunu’s challenge.

With the home side pushing everyone forward, they were left exposed at the back and Stoke scored again straight from Johansson’s long throw with Thomas racing down the left and shooting across Bazunu into the far corner.

As home supporters were beginning to file out of St Mary’s, Saints pulled one back with Harwood-Bellis this time making no mistake in heading in Fernandes’ corner 11 minutes from time.

Saints boss Will Still believes his club must do plenty of business in the remaining days of the transfer window if they are to achieve their aim of an instant return to the Premier League.

One player they will not be able to count on is Tyler Dibling, who Still confirmed is poised to join Everton in a deal worth in excess of £40million.

Still said: “He’s got a medical in the coming days and he’ll probably move up there.

“I think we still need a couple of things. A number 10 has been something from the start and we need a bit more creativity from the outside.

“We need to be better than what we were.

“We have to up the level and the quality of what we’re doing. We’ve created enough opportunities so I think it’s just that cutting edge or efficiency that they had today and we didn’t come up with.”