Stoke City sailed through to the third round of the EFL cup after a 4-0 away win against Stevenage.
Peter Crouch’s hat-trick and a stunning 30-yard strike by Phil Bardsley helped secure a 4-0 victory for the Potters against League Two side Stevenage.
Crouch scored his first hat-trick in six years which helped the Potters cruise through to the next round. The highlight of the game was the strikers bicycle kick that flew past goalkeeper Jamie Jones.
Manager Mark Hughes made five changes to the Stoke City starting line up. Crouch, Marc Muniesa, Charlie Adam, Geoff Cameron and Jon Walters made their first starts of the season.
The former England international was determined to make the most of this starting opportunity and will be hoping that he has done enough to feature in the Stoke Xl on Saturday, when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton. Crouch has struggled for game time at Stoke, making just 18 appearances in the 2015/16 Premier League season, and nine of which were as substitute.
The Potters will be in high spirits after their mid-week win and will be hoping to get a result after losing 4-1 at home to Manchester City last weekend.
Here’s how Stoke fans reacted on Twitter to Crouch’s memorable hat-trick:
Crouch’s first hat-trick of his club career came for Liverpool against Arsenal in a 4–1 victory in 2007. This was a so-called ‘perfect hat-trick’, consisting of goals scored from his left foot, right foot and with his head.
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