Vidigal bags brace as Stoke ease past 10-man Rotherham

New recruit Andre Vidigal enjoyed a dream debut as his brace inspired Stoke to a comprehensive 4-1 Championship victory at home to 10-man Rotherham.

The hosts raced into an early lead with Ki-Jana Hoever – returning for a second loan spell with The Potters – firing in an emphatic opener inside five minutes.

A dominant first-half display was rewarded in added time as Vidigal, who was a summer arrival from Maritimo, netted a quickfire double to heap misery on The Millers.

Matt Taylor’s half-time tactical tweaking sparked an instant impact as substitute Lee Peltier scored with his first touch to hand the visitors hope.

However, the early damage proved to be irreparable for Rotherham, who were reduced to 10 men after debutant Cafu was sent off.

Jacob Brown added a fourth with a late tap in as Stoke strode to an impressive and assured opening-day victory.

A productive summer in the Potteries had already seen 11 bodies arrive through the front door, with six new additions making their debuts in this encounter.

But it was a familiar face in Wolves loanee Hoever – who spent the second half of last season at the club – that handed the hosts a dream start.

A precise cross-field delivery from new club captain Josh Laurent found the onrushing Hoever, whose first-time volley crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.

Rotherham did threaten an unlikely equaliser when Ben Wiles was afforded space in the area, but his venomous strike was collected well by Mark Travers.

And that Millers’ miss would prove costly, as they soon found themselves three goals behind after a frantic seven minutes of stoppage time.

Winger Vidigal – who scored eight goals in the Portuguese top flight last season – took little time to open his account on English shores.

Daniel Johnson’s deep set-piece delivery was nodded back into the danger zone by Ben Wilmot with an unmarked Vidigal in position to slot home.

And the tricky forward was not done yet in an impressive first-half showing, finishing accurately on the rebound after Viktor Johansson thwarted Ryan Mmaee.

Disgruntled boss Taylor introduced Peltier at the interval and the defender looked to hand the away side a reprieve when he bundled home an effort immediately after the restart.

However, any chance of a Rotherham comeback was shelved when Cafu – a summer signing from Nottingham Forest – compounded a miserable afternoon by receiving his marching orders.

Starman Vidigal nearly completed his hat-trick when he met an accurate Hoever cross, but an instinctive Johansson save denied him a perfect introduction.

There was still time though for Stoke to add a fourth, with centre-back Ben Wilmot notching a second assist when Brown converted his flick-on to round off an emphatic win.