Nevertheless, the Potters will travel back to Staffordshire feeling a sense of contentment following a winless start to the Premier League season.
Advertisement
“I’m very pleased to be back playing again really”, Crouch told Stoke City Player.
“We had to dig in and we had to be defensively solid as a whole team and I thought to a man we were exactly that as well”. He will want to play more but he’s got a big role to play.
Looking ahead to Bournemouth, Crouch said: “It is another tough game, but it’s a home fixture and we need to start getting points on the board, It’s important we do that and I think Bournemouth will give us a tough test because they have started the season very well”.
Peter Crouch struck the only goal of the game on the half hour mark to knock the Cottagers out of the competition, but Symons believes his side was unlucky after a spirited second half display.
Stoke controlled much of the game but the hosts rallied late on and saw Shay Given save superbly from Lasse Vigen Christensen before Dan Burn hit the crossbar in stoppage time.
Symons and co are going to have to get over the defeat quickly, because on Friday, they face a huge West-London Derby against local rivals, QPR. He’s a player that gives us different options.
“In fact, when we were at Fulham, if I remember right, we had another slow start and were round about the bottom four at Christmas time and finished eighth”.
“I thought we were better second half and we ramped it up as it went on and had an abundance of chances at the end but unfortunately we couldn’t take one of them”.
That is one of eight ties to be played tonight, which includes two all Premier League games.
Advertisement
By contrast, the Championship club were expansive, adventurous and over-ambitious.
