Potters hit by spot of bother
BUT PIETERS SHRUGS OFF PENALTY ROW
ERIK PIETERS insists the bizarre penalty row will not come back to haunt Stoke.
One madcap last minute of this crucial game could yet end up having a massive say in the relegation battle.
Charlie Adam will be praying it’s not a case of Gone in Sixty Seconds after incredible scenes right at the end.
In brief, Jese was sent tumbling by Dale Stephens and then threw a major strop when Adam insisted on taking the spot-kick.
Fury
Adam’s strike to win the game was saved, he followed it up and was sent crashing by Lewis Dunk – no penalty.
Unbelievable and potentially season-defining. Stoke defender Pieters reckoned the row was over-the-top – but Jese’s fury was understandable.
Pieters said: “Don’t forget this guy is having a tough season. The moment there is a penalty, a striker wants to score.
“I can completely understand. It’s gone a little bit too far, but in my opinion emotion is part of the game.
“But when he missed, it’s bad. I can understand the reaction. Things are all good now, all good.
“It’s football. If he scores, he’s the hero. If he misses, people talk bad about him.” No matter which way you look at it, Stoke tossed away two points which they must now ensure don’t become crucial. In a frantic finish, Adam almost scored from a corner but Mat Ryan saved again and then Anthony Knockaert somehow managed to make a brilliant goal-line clearance to deny Mame Diouf. But, make no mistake, Brighton could well have won this and looked on their way when they scored from a brilliant passing move through Jose Izquierdo. The Seagulls looked like building on that until they were floored by Xherdan Shaqiri’s great strike in the 68th minute. Then came that nerve-shredding finale which penalty culprit Stephens admits could have really cost Brighton. Stephens said: “I think it was a soft pen, but what an unbelievable save and a great follow-up by Dunk as well. “It was last-ditch. He’s made an unbelievable tackle. Adam probably took a little bit longer than he would have liked. “If they’d scored the penalty I would be very disappointed now. We probably rode our luck a bit towards the end, but I think we probably should have been out of sight in the first half.”