Mikel leads Stoke City to first league home win

A former Nigeria international John Mikel Obi was the captain on Saturday as his team, Stoke City, secured their first home win in the Championship this season, beating Brentford 3-2 at the bet365 Stadium.

Mikel was handed the captain’s armband for the second straight match, after their 2-2 draw against Barnsley and he did well enough to lead the Potters to their long-awaited home win in Saturday’s tie.

Goals from Steven Fletcher, James McClean, and Tyrese Campbell were enough as Michael O’Neill’s men held on to triumph on their home patch.

Substitute Marcus Forss pulled a goal back for Brentford with 20 minutes remaining and scored a second in stoppage time but it was not enough to deny Mikel and his teammates the maximum points from the game.

Mikel, 33, had a great game, producing a rock-solid performance in the middle of the park by completing the most interceptions for Stoke City and he also completed the second-highest tackles after Tommy Smith.

Mikel, who has played every minute of Stoke City’s Championship games this season, also played from start to finish in Saturday’s tie as the Potters stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions.

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Stoke City’s only loss of the season dates back to September 20 when Bristol City beat them 2-0.

They have now moved up to eighth in the Championship table with 12 points after seven matches.

Next up for Mikel and his teammates is an away Championship fixture against Swansea City on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, another Nigerian star William Troost-Ekong was in action for Watford but could not help them maintain their winning run, as they conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 against visiting Bournemouth in another Championship game played on Saturday.