Stoke ´miles ahead´ on chances created – Hughes

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes claimed his side were “miles ahead” in terms of clear-cut chances in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Southampton.

A wonderful flicked finish from Bojan Krkic in the 10th minute earned Stoke all three points and a first win at St Mary’s Stadium.

It was a deserved win for Stoke, who saw Xherdan Shaqiri pass up two great opportunities in each half, while substitute Ibrahim Afellay had one cleared off the line by Ryan Bertrand near the end.

Hughes praised Stoke for stifling Southampton’s creativity, but felt his side deserved a greater margin of victory.

“I think in terms of clear-cut chances we were miles ahead of Southampton,” the Welshman told BBC Sport. 

“I don’t think Jack Butland had a save to make and that’s illustrative of how well we played – and we broke with real purpose too. 

“Southampton are a good team, but we coped with everything they had to offer and didn’t allow them to show any quality. 

“We’re delighted – it’s an important win for us. We could have finished off more of our chances but overall it was a good performance from us.”