O’Neill – I thought we did enough to win

Thursday, 4 March 2021, 8:35
1 min read

Stoke boss Michael O’Neill was clearly not happy after the last minute penalty award against his side gave the Swans a valuable win at the Bet365 Stadium but cost his side a point when he felt that they had done enough to earn three.

The Stoke boss saw his side hit the post twice and waste other good chances during the game only to come undone when Jack Clarke was adjudged to have fouled Kyle Naughton in the penalty area giving Andre Ayew the chance to score the last minute winner from the spot.

O’Neill claimed a foul on James Chester by Ayew in the build up as well as disputing that Naughton was caught by Clarke but the foul on Chester was quickly dismissed by the Sky pundits after the game although many fans felt it was a weak penalty but I do think as well there is a story to be told by the reaction of Clarke as Naughton goes down.

โ€œI think we did enough in the game to win it. We hit the bar, we hit the post, we defended well when we had to against a good team and then ultimately the referee gives a penalty, which is clearly not a penalty,” O’Neill said after the game.

โ€œObviously Naughton has got through on Jack Clarke, but in the lead up to it thereโ€™s a clear foul on James Chester where Andre Ayew runs into James and throws himself to the ground in an attempt to win a free-kick.

โ€œJames subsequently heads the ball into an area where they pick it up, and then shortly after, the ball ends up in the area of the pitch where the penalty is given.

โ€œTo give a penalty in that situation is gut-wrenching really because itโ€™s very unfair on the players and ultimately it decides the game. Referees shouldnโ€™t be deciding games, players decide games.โ€

Of course there is more than a large dollop of irony when listening to people talking about disputed penalties between Swansea and Stoke – maybe, just maybe these things do even themselves out after all!

Images courtesy of Getty Images, Athena Picture Agency and Swansea City Football Club.

Phil Sumbler

Been watching the Swans since the very late 1970s and running the Planet Swans website (in all its current and previous guises since the summer of 2001 As it stood JackArmy.net was right at the forefront of some of the activity against Tony Petty back in 2001, breaking many of the stories of the day as fans stood against the actions where the local media failed. Was involved with the Swans Supporters Trust from 2005, for the large part as Chairman before standing down in the summer of 2020.

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