'I thought we were better' - Stoke City boss Mark Robins' verdict on draw with 'physical' Preston North End

Stoke City manager Mark Robins felt his side deserved all three points against Preston North End.

The Lilywhites took the lead at Deepdale after 10 minutes, when Aston Villa loan man Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s deflected effort crept over the line. Stoke pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half though and eventually leveled from the penalty spot on 74 minutes.

Former Potter, Liam Lindsay, was the man adjudged to have brought down Stoke striker Ali Al-Hamadi - PNE boss Paul Heckingbottom felt the decision was soft but had no complaints with the end result. Robins, who has been in the hot seat since January 1, was impressed by his team’s showing.

Post-match, he said: “I think when you look back on it, at the start of the game you may have sort of accepted a point away from home, especially after the last few away games that we've had - where we've not managed to see a game out. This time we have done but I thought we were better; I thought we started off better.

“I thought we created the better chances and went the goal down against the run of play, really. We didn't continue in the vein that we wanted because we ended up going a bit more direct than we wanted to, but that's fine decision making, as long as there's a method to it.

“They're a physical side and they want to play that type of game; we've got to accept that. Different challenges present themselves week in, week out and today was a different one of those, where we had to try and get on top of the physical element before we could play.

“The pitch is quite difficult as well, so they deserve a lot of credit to be fair because they've tried to play, they've been brave, they've taken the ball and we've tried to create things our way. The penalty gets us back in the game and then we miss the header.

“Prior to that we've had the one with Gally, who's got his foot or toe to the end of the ball in the penalty area, when there was a melee. We kept the pressure on but we couldn't convert that into the net. It looked like there was only going to be one winner to be fair and pleased to say that that was us.”

“The physical contest that it generally is here was mitigated...”

Robins added: “You've got to be ready for whatever everybody's got to throw at you and that's what makes it really interesting, especially at this time of the year. They look like they're enjoying themselves... you can start to see that little bit of synergy growing, a little bit of a connection growing.

“We've got to continue in the same vein but there's some real quality in the team as well. Whilst it wasn't as much today as it was last week, I think you've got credit Preston for doing the ugly side of the game - the dirty side of the game - as well as they do. The physical contest that it generally is here was mitigated by the fact that we played some pretty decent football and created some pretty good opportunities.”

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