Williams and Clucas starred as the Potters ran out 2-1 winners over Gary Rowett’s old side in Wednesday’s Championship clash at the Bet365 Stadium.
It’s safe to say that quite a few Stoke City fans were not particularly looking forward to Wednesday night’s Championship encounter with Derby County prior to kickoff.
While the Rams have been impressive over the past few months under the tutelage of Frank Lampard, the Potters had struggled to adapt to life back in the second tier.
There was added spice to the game at the Bet365 Stadium as Stoke boss Gary Rowett faced the side he left in the summer in favour of taking over at the Staffordshire club.
However, first blood on the night belonged to the Potters through Sam Clucas, who slotted home midway through the first half after an incisive through-ball from Joe Allen.
Stoke’s Peter Etebo was then sent off on 33 minutes for a late challenge on Richard Keogh and, early in the second half, Harry Wilson equalised for the visitors with a free kick.
The script would favour the hosts in the end as Tom Ince struck against his former club just after the hour to put Stoke ahead again, while a superb defensive performance kept Derby from getting on the scoresheet again.
After the final whistle, many Stoke fans took to Twitter to praise their players for arguably one of the club’s finest performances in recent years.
Centre-back Ashley Williams, who put in a superb shift at the back while under siege by the opposition, was singled out for praise, as was midfielder Clucas, who scored and set up Ince for the winner:
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