Mark Robins says his Stoke players ‘let fans down’, and Ben Whiteman somehow avoids a red card after a high tackle on Sorba Thomas.
Preston ended their seven-game winless run, beating Stoke 3-1, the Lilywhites coming from behind after Stoke Sorba Thomas’ fourth-minute goal.
On-loan Tottenham midfielder Alfie Devine soon levelled with a composed finish after a long run, and got Preston’s third with a chipped finish shortly after Milutin Osmajic put them ahead.
This result sees Preston move into the top half of the table, while for Stoke, their poor form goes on with just two wins in their last 13 league games.
Horrendous https://t.co/paRydkfAaL pic.twitter.com/GaOyAPUrjf
— northstokie (@northstokie) March 20, 2026
Even clearer image of that Ben Whiteman tackle on Sorba Thomas 🤯
Should he have been sent off? pic.twitter.com/5SYeGZ8nel
— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) March 21, 2026
Stoke boss Mark Robins told BBC Radio Stoke:
“We let the supporters down and we had 3,000 supporters here tonight – we’ve really let them down. That’s miles away from where I expect the performance to be.
“We didn’t start particularly well, you know, inexplicable. We certainly didn’t win enough duels in the first half. But we got the first breakaway and we score from it, and they’re on the back foot.
“They’ve been on the back foot for some weeks now and they looked like that. They were there for the taking and whatever happened in this game, the pitch, whatever, I have no clue.
“There were too many players with off days and I think we’ve let everybody down. We’ve not competed well enough in the game and that’s inexplicable to me.
“It’s just unacceptable. That isn’t a performance that’s associated with our team.”
Robins, per Sky Sports:
“It was poor to start with. We just didn’t start with the intensity that we needed to play with and played without any quality.
“We’ve given them chances to get the ball in our box. Not the way we wanted to start the game but they put you under pressure with the way that they play so you have to deal with it.
“We ended up getting our first decent move down the right and Sorba [Thomas] scores. There was an opportunity there to win this game really well tonight and that’s the biggest disappointment.
“We’ve let the supporters down and we know we have.”
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire:
“Listen, I’ve been saying it’s about the wins. No one is interested in what you say when you’re not winning, you know it’s about the win.
“We have played well in previous games and not got over the line and today we started really well again, and then their first pass, their first cross, they score.
“We had that against Norwich, where we started the better team, made a mistake and they go one up. Kenny McLean puts one in the top corner from a free-kick.
“We were the dominant team, but we couldn’t get the goal, couldn’t get the points. Today we did, so that will make everyone feel better, definitely.
“The performance was excellent from start to finish and we turned the game round from that difficult start, and it wasn’t just me thinking ‘here we go again’, so it’s great.”
Delighted with the performance and the three points. 🙌#pnefc pic.twitter.com/9TGNxqp1re
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) March 21, 2026
Heckingbottom, per Sky Sports:
“Alfie [Devine’s] a good player and a good lad. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him, as good as he’s played. There’s more to come. He needs pushing but with that as well, you need to understand, he’s played a lot of minutes in this league and it’s tough.
“You’re a young boy, you have peaks and troughs, but where we need to get him is in that consistency of performance because he’s got the ability, he’s got the brain, and he’s got the talent to affect the games on the pitch.”
Here’s how fans reacted as Mark Robins says Stoke players ‘let fans down’ and Ben Whiteman avoids a red after his high tackle…
@PNEFansForum: To the Stoke fans – refs don’t hate you, theyre incompetent to EVERYONE. Deffo a red, mind.
@ChrisDeakin1712: Thomas got sent off a couple of weeks ago for much much less
@Sheepshagger28: clearest red you’ll see all weekend
@weare_stoke: Why do these decisions never go for us? That’s as easy a red as a ref can give ffs
@Everystepalong: Another one to add to the list
@JE22_JCK : It seems to always be Ben Whiteman that gets away with these sort of challenges
@celuiapt: Nowhere near the ball how’s that not a red? #scfc
@Joncdowns: Don’t worry, the ref will be out again at the weekend so he can be making more horrendous decisions. It was right in front of the 4th official and the assistant referee looking right at it. Perhaps we should be grateful they get the throw ins right.
@stokie_JH: Wow sums this season up
@James_David20: Shocking game. Terrible decisions made at half time. But if the ref sends him off when he should then we win that
@Bickers1952: It’s getting beyond a joke now. We go anywhere near a player and it’s a yellow. Touch them it’s a red. Not saying we are angels but why have none of the officials picked that up.
@OWaltonSports: Game changes on this decision. Shocker.
Why did Robins put your biggest threat in Thomas to fight back? We were lucky Whiteman only got a yellow, def red pic.twitter.com/timkfIS3Am
— Andy (@RJProduction3) March 20, 2026
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