Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. A valuable point for makeshift Stoke side

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke

    Lamine Cisse, of Stoke City, runs past Phil Neumann, of Birmingham City, during the Championship matchGetty Images

    Stoke City winger Lamine Cisse had to play up front against Birmingham City

    All points are equal, but some points are more equal than others and this one felt extremely valuable.

    An injury-hit squad lost Ben Wilmot before the visit to Birmingham City as Stoke City were only able to name two recognised first-team players on the bench.

    One of those was Aaron Cresswell, returning from an injury of his own, and he had to share minutes at left-back with starter Eric Bocat, who has also been out and isn't yet ready to play a full game.

    That left Ben Pearson and almost half an under-21 team on the bench to offer fresh legs, and a starting XI which included top scorer Sorba Thomas at right-back and another winger in Lamine Cisse up front.

    Stoke looked tired in the midweek defeat by Middlesbrough and simply couldn't rotate nearly as much as Mark Robins would surely have liked because of the numbers out.

    Having fallen behind to a poor goal, conceded from a set-piece in very un-Stoke fashion, it took immense character and resilience to force a draw against a Birmingham side with a very impressive home record.

    That a credible case could be made to say Stoke were the better team overall is a testament to their collective response to the adversity they currently face.

    Steven Nzonzi came into the side and was excellent, and at the other end of the football age scale, Favour Fawunmi came on for his first career league appearance and made a good contribution.

    The draw keeps Stoke in touch with the top six and, with a week to go until their next game to get players fit and hopefully make an addition or two in the transfer window, some relief may be on the way.

    Dutch striker Milan Smit was pictured with fans outside St Andrew's, so his arrival on loan will provide a much-needed option for a squad missing all four recognised strikers through injury.

    If Stoke can pick up enough points in the short term to still be in the mix with 10 games to go and with a largely fit squad, they'll be a terrifying prospect for the other teams in the play-off picture.

  2. A still image provided by Blancomet shows a red HGV driving onto the firm's concrete forecourt through metal security gates. A man in a blue outfit stands next to the gates. Text on the CCTV image give the date as 18/01/2026, a time of 22:15:01 and says Front Entrance.

  3. Milan Smit in action for Go Ahead Eagles in January

  4. A woman with blonde straight hair standing in front of a white background. She is in a green and gold football top with the number 26 on it. She is holding a football and smiling. She has dark green shorts and long socks on, with bronze and black football boots

  5. Two men in orange high-vis tops stand with their arms folded and smiling in the back of a lorry filled with real Christmas trees.

  6. A dog with brown ears and brown markings on its head, alongside a white strip around its muzzle, has its white paws resting on the top of a wooden fence, looking into the camera. It is in a field with the sun rising in the distance.

  7. An important performance - Robins

    Robins: 'I thought we were the better team'

    Stoke City manager Mark Robins praised his players for battling back from a goal down at Birmingham despite having 11 players injured and defender Bosun Lawal suspended.

    He told BBC Radio Stoke: "It was an important performance because we are [down to the] bare bones and everyone knows it and sees it, but the packed-out away end was phenomenal and backed us all the way.

    "The players really appreciate that. I thought we were the better team in the first half and created some decent openings that we usually don't take anyway.

    "We've got 12 players out and the majority of those are first-team starters, or have been, so to put in a performance like that was really pleasing.

    "[Birmingham] have been good at home this year and we gave as good as we got, could have taken some chances, and had chances to create shooting opportunities which we turned down - that's the only criticism, I want them to shoot, have a go.

    "We conceded a really poor goal, but the response was emphatic, a brilliant delivery from Cressy."

  8. National League ball

  9. Birmingham City's Phil Neumann puts his hands over his face after scoring an own goal against Stoke City

  10. Close-up of caregiver holding senior client hand. Support from nurse to patient, taking care of elderly man in hospital.

  11. A university graduate dressed in black gown and mortar board, with a yellow hood decoration. He has a sunflower lanyard around his neck and is holding a black walking aid. He stands on grass, with white marquees, other students and a large building out of vision behind him.

  12. A man standing in a goal at a football stadium, with rows of red seats behind him. Two teddy bears sit on the bar of the goal. The man is smiling, wearing a white t-shirt and has spikey hair and glasses.

  13. A Hasbro Scrabble board game arranged on a table alongside the box, tiles, and racks.

  14. A mugshot of a man with short grey hair and wearing a black top.

  15. Tamworth re-sign Creaney from Solihull Moors

    Dan CreaneyShutterstock

    Dan Creaney scored three goals in 12 league games for Solihull Moors this season

    Tamworth have re-signed forward Dan Creaney on a free transfer from Solihull Moors.

    He was a prolific scorer in his first spell at The Lamb Ground from 2023 to the summer of 2025 and returned in November for an eight-match loan spell.

    "I have been trying to get Dan back ever since his loan period ended in December," said manager Andy Peaks.

    "This is an 18-month deal so we are really pleased that we have Dan committed for next season too."

    Tamworth are 13th in National League and at home to Sutton United on Saturday.

  16. The back of a police officer's jacket - the jacket is bright yellow/green and has "police" on the back in white letters on a blue rectangle.

  17. A general view of the the front entrance and courtyard outside Stafford Crown Court.

  18. Stoke City boss Mark Robins head shot blowing out cheeks

  19. A woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera

  20. Pot Vale defender Ben Heneghan points to his left

  21. The side of a police car with yellow and blue squares on it

  22. Michelle Swift, a woman with blonde hair, is looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a black and white striped jumper and a black coat over the top. Behind her is a group of people taking part in a cookery session.

  23. A number of staff are behind the bar in their uniform next to the owners.

  24. A woman with short blonde hair, glasses, a multi-coloured necklace, a black top and a red cardigan, stands in front of a white wall and smiles.