Source: PA
Grant left feeling aggrieved
West Ham boss Avram Grant was disappointed with some of the decisions his side encountered in his side's 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Stoke.
The Potters' first-half dominance was reflected in centre-back Robert Huth's eighth goal of the season but Frederic Piquionne's clear handball was missed by referee Mike Jones as the striker went on to score.
When former Hammer Matt Etherington missed a penalty seconds after the interval it seemed it was not to be Stoke's day, but Danny Higginbotham drilled a free-kick through the wall and goalkeeper Robert Green could only push it onto a post and into the net.
Grant, who claimed James Tomkins should have had a penalty late on instead of being penalised for a foul on Jon Walters, said: "I think maybe this is the reason the referee started the second half very strange.
"Until they scored [the second] goal he gave fouls, a penalty, everything for them. It was a penalty for us at the end which he didn't give. What happened with Tomkins was more bushido (the Japanese code of conduct for samurai warriors).
"Maybe he felt a little bit guilty. I think it was the effect of the first goal for us."
