Saturday 30 April 2016 19:38, UK
Stoke manager Mark Hughes felt his side were denied victory against Sunderland by what he deemed to be a poor decision from referee Craig Pawson.
The Potters looked on course for a welcome win when they led 1-0 deep into stoppage-time at the Britannia Stadium, only for Pawson to point to the spot after defender Geoff Cameron had tangled with Jermain Defoe.
And Sunderland forward Defoe duly tucked away the spot-kick, cancelling out Marko Arnautovic's 50th-minute opener.
Stoke had conceded four goals in each of their previous three games and, while pleased with an improved showing, Hughes was annoyed that it was not rewarded with three points.
"We are disappointed with the awarding of the penalty. I thought it was a soft one," said the Welshman.
"The referee made the decision, and I don't know if his assistant played a part, but it was a very. very easy penalty at that stage in the game.
"We were quite comfortable and had chances to put the game to bed.
"You obviously expect to face balls into the box and they were throwing people forward and hoping something was going to break for them.
"And they have got a huge slice of luck in my view because quite clearly we were the better team today and had more clear-cut chances.
"I think we all felt the referee played a part in allowing them to get something out of the game, which I didn't think they really deserved."
Following the recent heavy defeats, Hughes made five changes to his starting line-up, and they seemed to have a positive effect, with Peter Crouch's aerial ability proving particularly effective.
"We had to play in a certain way because of the opposition," said Hughes. "But it was the right team for us today and I thought it sparked a markedly-improved performance
"We are pleased in terms of that but obviously it should have been three points, the referee has allowed them back into the game unfortunately."
