HAVING ALREADY MADE two substitute appearances for new club Stoke, Stephen Ireland enjoyed a full debut for the club tonight, and got his name on the scoresheet to boot.
Ireland has gone some way towards repaying the faith shown in him by manager Mark Hughes by opening the scoring away to Tranmere.
The Irish player picked up a clever through pass from Marko Arnautovic and showed good composure to score for the first time since December 2011.
And interestingly, temporary Ireland boss Noel King was watching Ireland in the stands, along with the other Irish player in action — Glenn Whelan — while Jonathan Walters is on the bench.