With Stoke on a three match streak without a win yet tending to dominate territory without creating meaningful chances or overly trouble the opposition, John Moore must have 'Wade In' to Broadley Lane with high hopes of taking something from this fixture. What the Alphas found was a resurgent Stoke side sporting a new formation and attacking mentality and an understanding that in cliche terms they had ten cup finals to win before the end of April. Somewhat surprisingly, the visitors started with a 4-5-1 formation, defended deep and appeared to have come for a point with a shape and tactics that have frustrated the Railwaymen in recent games. When the inimitable 'Muzzy' Smith split the Stoke back line inside 5 minutes and shot home across debutante keeper Kenny Griffiths, that decision must have seemed a wise one. The game then took on a familiar pattern with Stoke finding copious amounts of time and space as Smith was asked to plough a lone furrow up front which was frankly not within the limitations of his natural game. However, the home side's tempo and movement was sluggish and with Stuart Smith marshalling the visitors defence in typically sergeant major fashion, it needed a flash of genius to break the resistance. This came on 35 minutes when Kevin Wills, who had been tormentor in chief throughout the half, turned his marker on the edge of the box and having driven down the left channel crossed from the by line to find Glen Palmer on the edge of the six yard box who side footed home to level the scores. half time arrived without further noteworthy incident. What the second half saw was a Stoke side displaying a purpose and intent that has been all too absent from recent performances and they rightly went on to victory. On 65 minutes they won a corner on the left and with Richard Gomm having just left the field, Dave Worthington did his new captaincy role proud by swinging in a corner which deceived Matt Slark in the Alphas goal to nestle in the back of the net. Sometimes, a second half lead has been a nemesis for Stoke but their rejuvenated approach saw them bury the game within another five minutes when Glen Palmer received a through ball and drove home across Slark from 12 yards to effectively finish the game. What remained of note was an excellent save by Griffiths low to his right from a Stuart Smith 20 yard strike after Tim Cridland's cross had been partly cleared and Ian Mayer's audible concerns about the likely temperature of his shower as the third team fixture finished early on an adjacent pitch and potential changing room space appeared at a premium. Roll on the new development. A welcome victory for Stoke, some favourable results elsewhere and suddenly the season is alive again. As a famous man once said "It's a funny old game."