Osaze hails Stoke character

Nigerian forward, Osaze Odemwingie, has hailed the spirit of his Stoke City teammates in their one-all draw against 10-man Hull City at the weekend.

The Potters were unable to really test Allan McGregor until Ryan Shawcross scrambled an equaliser seven minutes from time.

Odemwingie, making his first Stoke appearance of the campaign, says the side showed character to fight back after Nikica Jelavic had put Hull in front against the run of play just before half-time.

But he admits there is work to do to find the kind of form they were showing during their sprint finish to end last season.

He said: “First of all I would say the positive side is that we got a point. It could have been worse. Maybe we didn’t play so well, but a point is more important.

“We had the advantage of one player and we kept possession, but maybe we were in a hurry in the final third as we were looking for a goal.

“We made the wrong decisions in the key areas and that’s something we’ve got to work on.

“We’re not so pleased with our game, but we did have to show some character to come back. It was a bit of a frustrating day, but some of our players really showed zeal. You could see the desire in their eyes and their body language.

“We put the effort in. It wasn’t the best day for us, but we got the point to take back home.”

“It was unfortunate to concede a goal like that. We didn’t expect it, but it’s just the beginning of the season. We’ve seen what areas we need to work on and we will only get better.

“Huddlestone was stretching for the ball as he shot. It was a difficult position to shoot from and it was a difficult ball along the ground. We didn’t expect the shot and then Jelavic was first on the ball. It was was a bad time to concede too.”

Mame Diouf and Peter Crouch both went close before Shawcross found the equaliser. Odemwingie said: “Ryan and Peter Crouch used their physical presence to get the goal for us. It’s well done to them.”