Newcastle and Stoke finish level

Newcastle 1 Stoke 1: By Mark Hughes’s usual abrasive standards, his criticism of referee Kevin Friend was calm and measured, but that was only because the Stoke City manager had seen substitute Peter Crouch earn his team a deserved point with a 90th-minute header.

However, Crouch’s goal didn’t prevent Hughes concentrating his attention on the 75th-minute goal scored by Newcastle United Jack Colback, who admitted he was fortunate to escape a second yellow card when he fouled Victor Moses just three minutes earlier.

The manager still delivered a blistering analysis of Friend’s performance and his words may be sufficient to earn him a trip to the FA to explain them. For once, though, there was some justification for yet another Hughes outburst about a referee.