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Solskjaer hails Cardiff spirit for Stoke draw

Cardiff City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was delighted with the spirit of his players after their draw with Stoke City.

Peter Whittingham's 50th-minute spot-kick cancelled out a Marko Arnautovic strike - the first penalty Cardiff have conceded this season - that was converted during the dying seconds of an opening 45 minutes the hosts shaded with regards to possession and territory.

"I felt what I felt at the time, that it was not a penalty, but I accept that Howard has got to make a decision there and then," Solskjaer said.

"He (Webb) hasn't got the advantage of all the replays that we have.

"For us, it galvanised everyone in the dressing room. We felt hard done by.

"I didn't have to say a lot at half-time, apart from maybe trying to control the emotions, because that is important when you get decisions like that against you. You can't make him change his mind.

"The players were very close to it, and the players said 'let's make sure we use this to gain some momentum and get some energy'.

"The way we came out second half and put them under pressure, got the goal, got a disallowed goal, got the crowd going - they were fantastic again - and it was just what we wanted.

"But then again, they (Stoke) took over the last 10 or 15 minutes.

"The first 75-80 minutes I thought we deserved maybe more than a draw. Towards the end, you might just say we didn't deserve anything.

"But we have got a top, top goalkeeper, and he saved that point for us.

"We lost the momentum. We had so much of it, especially the first half-hour. We were getting a bit anxious towards the end, and they had chances.

"The chance 'Marshy' (goalkeeper David Marshall) saved (from Oussama Assaidi) should have been a goal, and we should have sat here with no points, but we have to thank him again."

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