Stoke City Boss Mark Hughes Disappointed His Side Weren't Awarded a Penalty in Huddersfield Draw

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes his side should have been given a clear penalty during their draw with Huddersfield on Tuesday in the Premier League.

The Potters drew 1-1 against the Terriers at John Smith's Stadium. An early first-half goal by Thomas Ince gave the home side a 1-0 lead, but a 60th minute equaliser by Ramadan Sobhi proved to be enough for Stoke to come away with a point.

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The result moves Stoke into 13th place in the Premier League. They climbed above Southampton, who lost 5-2 to Tottenham on Tuesday. 

Speaking after the game, Hughes was adamant his side should have had a clear penalty when Mame Biram Diouf was tripped in Huddersfield's penalty area. 

The Stoke boss also suggested that the decision not to give the home side their own penalty a few minutes before impacted the referee's judgement in his team's penalty shout.  

According to Sky Sports, the 54-year-old said that: "We feel a little bit aggrieved if I'm honest. It was clearly a penalty on Mame Diouf in the middle of the box. He is shaping to protect the ball and his legs have been taken away from him, so it's a clear penalty. 

"Whether or not the referee was influenced by the home team and the crowd - because they had a penalty call a few minutes before which clearly wasn't a penalty, Joe Allen just shepherded the ball away - maybe that affected his decision-making in terms of what he should have done for us."

Hughes was happy with the result despite that, after also winning their previous game against West Brom. But he also admitted that he is hoping to sign defensive players in January after the injury to captain Ryan Shawcross during the game.

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He continued by saying that: "Any away point in the Premier League is good. You have to battle and you have to work hard to get points on the board when you're on the road. 

"We're struggling a little bit with defensive personnel. We've lost out skipper again so they are piling up at the moment. 

"We have to put square pegs in the round holes at times. So it's a bit tough for the guys at the back, but we've just got to get through this period, get a few back and hopefully get a little bit of help in January as well because we're a little bit short. Then we'll be OK."