Hang on a Mo, Rowett
GARY ROWETT claimed Stoke fell victim to fatigue and a dodgy refereeing decision as Reading denied them at the death.
The Potters were on course for their first away win since October before Mo Barrow returned from illness with an equaliser with 94 minutes on the clock.
But boss Rowett (right) felt referee David Coote should have seen a push on Tom Ince in the build-up to the late drama.
He said: “I’m disappointed because I felt the game was always going to be a challenge, after Wednesday night playing against Derby for an hour with 10 men.
“To get to that position, in the 94th minute, we should see it out. The referee and linesman make a decision – two yards from the linesman it’s a clear push on Ince.
“In my opinion they’re paid to get those decisions right – once more the official doesn’t do that.
“But there were times in the game where you could tell there was a little bit of fatigue there, and towards the end you knew it would be a challenge.” Stoke dominated early on, and both Benik Afobe and Sam Clucas were guilty of misses from close range.
Reading punished the woeful City finishing three minutes before the break when Marc Mcnulty headed home an Andy Rinomhota cross.
Stoke hit back three minutes after the restart when Afobe ran onto a lobbed pass by Clucas to slot past Anssi Jaakkola.
The visitors looked dangerous, testing the Finnish shot-stopper, before taking the lead after 69 minutes when Ince – who bagged the midweek winner against Derby – volleyed in off the crossbar.
However, Reading started pressing themselves and with time almost up Barrow found space on the left to deliver a stunning conclusion to the game.
Royals boss Paul Clement admitted the lastgasp equaliser felt as good as a victory. “It’s a good point in the end, right at the end of the game to score that late,” he said.
“I thought maybe it had got away from us, but I’m glad the players didn’t think that way.
“We pushed really strongly at the end, we got on as many attacking players as I could.
“We put in a couple of really good crosses that flashed past Jack Butland and we didn’t have someone in there to finish it off. But we’ve certainly competed against both Leeds and Stoke this week.”