Potter proud despite defeat

Graham Potter focused on the positives – and not the refereeing decision which cost his team the game – after Swansea City suffered their first away defeat of the season at Stoke.

The Potters claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to a 57th-minute strike from Liberty old boy Joe Allen.

But the goal should have been disallowed because Allen was well offside when the ball deflected into his path off Benik Afobe, who should also have been flagged.

When asked about the goal, Potter said: “It felt a bit strange at the time and seeing it back it’s an obvious one isn’t it?

“But that’s part of football. Officials are going to make mistakes and I will not be the first manager to sit here and bemoan an offside decision.

“We’ll look to do what we can do better, which is maybe creating a few more chances than we did tonight.”

Potter’s players were clearly frustrated with the officials’ failure to rule out Allen’s goal.

They protested at the time and once again at the final whistle, but Potter preferred to concentrate on what his team had done well.

“We are disappointed to lose of course because we put a hell of a lot into that game,” he added.

“I’m really proud of big aspects of our performance.

“For the first 30 minutes we were really good – the reaction of the home crowd told you that.

“We restricted them to not very much and had some attacking ideas ourselves.

“Stoke’s not an easy place to come. They have some good players and the atmosphere can turn on one little thing, so overall I was happy at half-time.

“We started off okay in the second half. Then the goal comes and they sit back a little more.

“Overall we are disappointed to lose but there were a lot of good performances out there.

“The players showed great attitude and spirit. For them to come to a difficult place and show the character they did was pleasing.”

The Swans had plenty of possession at the bet365 Stadium and looked menacing at times.

But Wayne Routledge and sub Oli McBurnie saw efforts saved and Nathan Dyer’s shot was blocked.

Stoke created the clearer opportunities, hence boss Gary Rowett felt his team were worth their win despite the fortuitous goal.

“The goal was a gift from heaven,” Rowett said. “It looked offside at the time and it was. We have had a bit of fortune.

“But overall, aside from the goal, we had the three clearest chances.”