Stoke City manager Mark Robins has admitted his disappointment after watching his side throw away a huge opportunity to pull clear of the relegation zone last night.
The Potters welcomed fellow relegation candidates Luton Town to the bet365 Stadium. A win for either side would have provided a huge boost to their survival prospects, perhaps more so for the home side.
Stoke entered the game on the back of two big results. They comfortably beat Queens Park Rangers at the end of last month before securing a valuable point against Preston North End on Saturday. As for Luton, they too have hit a bit of form as of late and were hoping to extend their recent four-game unbeaten run.
Predictably, it was a tetchy affair and it wasn’t a surprise to see the two teams enter the half time break goalless. The home side broke the deadlock in the 74th minute courtesy of a deflected Lewis Baker free kick, but their hopes of another huge three points were dashed when Millenic Alli’s first goal for the Hatters in added time saw the scores end level.
Robins Disappointed But Looking Forward
The result left Stoke just two points above the bottom three with five games remaining. Speaking after the game, Robins reflected on a missed opportunity before swiftly turning his attention to Saturday’s huge six-pointer against Cardiff City:
“Yes, we’re disappointed, yes we know the circumstances but they haven’t changed. The circumstances are the same going into the last five games of the season. It doesn’t matter who the opponents are, it really doesn’t, it just becomes who keeps their nerve, who can perform the best?
“We’ve got some really good, talented players that know they are talented players and they can contribute in a really big way in these last five games.
“That’s how they feel. They were losing, we were winning and we know what that means – we would have got three points rather than one, we’ve got two points less.
“It’s disappointing, really disappointing, but let’s put it into perspective. We can change the narrative on Saturday with a really good performance. If we can pick up three points there then things look better.”
Writer’s View
At this stage the point was definitely more valuable for Stoke than Luton. However, to drop two points in the final stages of the game was a bitter blow. A win would have opened up a comfortable gap on the bottom three but they are now in danger of slipping into the relegation places. They travel to Cardiff City at the weekend knowing that a defeat would see the Bluebirds move above them.
