The pre-match press conference at the Huddersfield end was surreally macabre. Danny Schofield had only been in charge of two league games, both defeats, and he was asked if it was a crisis, if he really had authority with the players and if his third game in charge was a must-win.
The response from more than one Stoke fan was that, if it was Stoke in their shoes, there would seem to be no way out of the hole… and with Stoke as the opposition, there was only one result.
The half empty glass of a football supporter but, miserably, how it transpired. It shouldn’t, if only Stoke could have made the big moments count in their favour.
They had a glorious chance to take the lead mid-way through the first half, for instance, with a penalty when Josh Ruffels kicked Josh Laurent in the chops.