Roy rues Foster role in mix-up

WEST BROM coach Roy Hodgson claimed goalkeeper Ben Foster could have shown more bravery after gifting Stoke substitute Ryan Shotton a late winner at The Hawthorns.

Foster and Gabriel Tamas were involved in an 89th-minute mix-up which presented Shotton with a tap-in for his first Barclays Premier League goal.

Hodgson felt Mike Dean should have disallowed the goal because of Shotton’s challenge on Foster but also conceded the goalkeeper might have dealt with the incident better.

He said: “To lose like that is very galling especially having seen the replays. I thought we defended it very, very badly.

“Foster could have been brave and taken the stud in the chest.

“But unfortunately he decided to turn away from the stud and, as a result, we conceded a goal.

“I think the referee could have helped in the situation by giving the free-kick because the player has put his foot high and was leading with his studs.”

Albion’s woe was compounded by the news striker Peter Odemwingie has suffered a reaction to his ankle problem suffered during pre-season.

Hodgson said: “How serious it is, we don’t know. He played last Saturday for 10 minutes against Chelsea, he trained Monday-Tuesday, then we had two days off.

“When we came back in, the ankle injury was plaguing him again.”

WEST BROM: Foster, Reid, Tamas, Olsson, Shorey, Brunt (Thomas 66), Scharner, Mulumbu, Morrison (Dorrans 80),Tchoyi (Fortune 77),Long.

STOKE: Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Woodgate, Wilson (Wilkinson 37), Pennant (Shotton 75),Whelan,Whitehead,Etherington (Pugh 67), Walters, Jones.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).