Monday 9 February 2015 06:42, UK
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes Jack Colback should have been sent off before he opened the scoring during their 1-1 draw at Newcastle.
Magpies midfielder Colback, who had initially been booked for a challenge on Marc Muniesa, fouled Victor Moses three minutes before he put the hosts ahead in the 74th minute at St James' Park.
Peter Crouch’s 90th-minute winner rescued a point for the Potters, and Hughes was thankful the decision did not cost his side.
“The disappointment today is that the lad who scored their goal shouldn’t be on the field of play,” he told Sky Sports.
“Ourselves, most people in the ground and everyone watching at home thought it was a sending-off.
“It was clearly a second yellow card and given how easily the referee was giving them out earlier on in the game for him not to give a second yellow is a big oversight and is a key moment in the game and those are things that frustrate us as managers.
“I thought we were the better team on the day and we’re grateful in the end that the referee hasn’t had an influence by not sending the player off. Thankfully that hasn’t hurt us as much as it might have done.”
The last-gasp draw on Tyneside prevented Newcastle from leapfrogging the Potters in the Premier League table.
As things stand, Stoke remain two points ahead of their opponents and Hughes thought his side’s controlled display warranted at least a draw.
“We got on the ball, dominated possession. In fairness, we restricted Newcastle to a few counter attacks and we penned them back,” Hughes added.
“We probably didn’t get enough shots away on goal or create real clear-cut chances, but the least we deserved out of the game was a point.
“It was a good away performance from ourselves, to be fair. It’s a difficult place to come to and we played against a team that had a good performance last time out so we knew it was going to be a difficult fixture.
“In terms of trying to probe and create, I thought we were the better team on the day.”
