Stoke City boss Mark Robins believes his side were “a little bit unfortunate” to come away empty-handed from their trip to Portman Road on Tuesday night.
A stunning strike from Jaden Philogene in just the second minute proved decisive, earning the hosts back-to-back home victories and lifting them to fourth place in the Championship. Stoke, meanwhile, have now suffered five defeats in their last six outings, dropping to eighth.
“We showed bravery and held our own against a team that came down from the Premier League and have invested smartly,” Robins said. “You can see the improvements around the club, and Kieran has them really well-drilled.
“There were a lot of similarities between their style and ours, which was interesting. Ultimately, the difference was the quality of Philogene’s finish so early on. That frustrated me.”
Robins felt Stoke created enough to force a different outcome but lacked quality in decisive moments. “We produced some good opportunities but let ourselves down with the final ball or wrong decision. Junho has a big chance—he takes a touch when he simply can’t, it has to be hit first time. Sorba had two clear openings, Gally had one in the second half. These are moments that can change the game. The timing of our passes wasn’t good enough.”
He added that while Stoke built play well from back to front and showed bravery in possession, small errors proved costly. “We pressed well most of the time, but we got it wrong early on and they punished us. Even then, he still has a lot to do to score.”
Robins also highlighted the lack of a reliable, high-scoring striker. “We’re missing that 20-goal forward. That’s not a dig at Divin Mubama—he was better tonight, his movement and involvement were improved. There’s still learning to do, but that’s the reality of where we are.”
Reflecting on the wider picture, the manager said: “It’s hard to talk about the positivity we had before this run, but this is the Championship—this is what it’s like. Tonight was a real test after a really poor performance on Saturday. I thought we responded well, played well, and were a bit unlucky not to take something from it.”