Paul Lambert 'Devastated' for His Stoke Players After 1-1 Draw With Fellow Strugglers Brighton

Paul Lambert admitted he was 'devastated' for his players after his Stoke side drew 1-1 against Brighton at the best365 Stadium. For all of Stoke's early

Paul Lambert admitted he was 'devastated' for his players after his Stoke side drew 1-1 against Brighton at the best365 Stadium.

For all of Stoke's early possession, it was Brighton who looked the more threatening side going forward, and opened the scoring thanks to Jose Izquierdo's neat finish after some neat build up play from the visitors on the half-hour-mark.

Brighton threatened to add to their lead in the second half, however against the run of play Xherdan Shaqiri produced a moment of brilliance when his shot from 18 yards out curled past Matt Ryan in the Brighton goal to get the hosts back in the game. 

Mark Runnacles/GettyImages

Both teams were pushing for a winning goal, and it looked as thought Stoke would get just that after substitute Jese Rodriguez was brought down in the box. However, Charlie Adam stepped up and missed the penalty and after some heroic defending from Lewis Dunk, Brighton were able to clear their lines and snatch a point.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Lambert admitted he felt for his players at the result, saying: "I'm devastated for the players. When you get a penalty in last minute it's a big opportunity to win the game. But the penalty's a lottery, a hit or a miss."

Mark Runnacles/GettyImages

There also some tension once the penalty was awarded regarding who would step up to take it, with replays showing a number of Stoke players arguing amongst themselves, a reaction Lambert wasn't impressed with.

He added: "Nobody likes to see that [players fighting over who takes a penalty]. Charlie scored the last one against Coventry and he felt confident he was going to score. So I am a great believer that if you feel confident, step up and hit it. 

Mark Runnacles/GettyImages

"And the incident you are talking about, lads are desperate to score and desperate to win and I think that is the big thing. But you do not want to see that probably in public, that is the thing I would go against.

"He did [want to take the penalty] and I will never curtail that in anybody if you have a great desire to score. I would rather have that than not and people shying away from it and that is one thing he never done. But the second half was very good."

Stoke remain in 18th place, however could drop to 19th should Huddersfield beat Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon. Lambert will be looking to regalvanize his squad as they now turn their attention to their trip to Leicester on Saturday as they look to claw themselves away from safety.