Paul Lambert says Stoke deserved more from Everton defeat
Saturday 17 March 2018 19:46, UK
Paul Lambert felt Stoke were hard done by in their 2-1 home defeat by Everton, after playing for an hour with 10 men.
Charlie Adam was shown a red card after half an hour for a challenge on Wayne Rooney, a decision which Lambert said he "understood" after watching it back.
But he was full of praise for his players who rallied after falling behind to Cenk Tosun's opener, and equalised through Eric Choupo-Moting's close-range finish before Tosun struck again with six minutes to play.
"I couldn't ask for any more effort, the way they played being down to 10 men for a long while, I don't think we deserved to lose. I think we deserved at least a point.
"The red card certainly put us on the back foot, but the effort and commitment I can't fault. We coped very well with 10 men. We looked strong and dangerous on the counter, I don't think there was too much trouble in the game, we did lose but we need to start to win.
"We need a break or two to go our way, today was a prime example of how everybody's fighting to stay in the division. There's still many games to play and I think there'll be lots of twists and turns along the way."
Lambert's annoyance with the officials was born out of the first of Tosun's goals, which the Stoke boss felt should have been picked up as offside.
"I've just seen the first goal back - it's definitely offside," he said. "The thing I get disappointed about is that it's on the linesman's side.
"He's looking across the line, he's got to see it. You've got to get the big moments right, it's a mistake."
