Roy's verdict: Roy Hodgson refused to make excuses following his side's 2-0 loss against Stoke City on Saturday evening. Goals from Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones consigned the Reds to defeat at the Britannia against Tony Pulis's aggressive side. Hodgson reflected: "I'm obviously sad that a good run's come to an end. It was always going to be tough because it's a battle here. "We did okay in the first half. We dealt with the pressure of the throws, the corners and the long balls forward reasonably well. When they scored from one of the long throws it was always going to be an even bigger uphill battle. "They've got a very difficult style to play against. We did our best to deal with it but they got the goal that was required. Our forwards would have had to do a little bit more for us than they were able to do if we were going to get anything out of the game. "I don't want to be seen to be making cheap excuses. We lost to a strong team who out-battled us in certain occasions." Asked if the result was a reality check after six games unbeaten, Hodgson replied: "We've had a good run and played some good football in that run. Stoke City is a totally different type of game than the games we've played in the last few weeks because of the way they set out to play the game. "A reality check? I don't know. We're realistic. We know we've still got some work to do, get some players back to fitness and work at our game." Hodgson felt Torres getting a kick in the second half restricted his ability to make an impact on the game. He said: "We missed Fernando in the second half after the kick he took. He didn't want to come off and I didn't want to take him off because you don't want to take your goalscorer off when you need a goal. But I don't think he was firing on all cylinders. "I don't think it's too serious. It was a nasty knock he took but he wanted to carry on. We offered him the chance to come off but he wasn't interested in that." Meanwhile, reporters quizzed the boss on how animated Sammy Lee appeared to be on the touchline. "These games must be a nightmare for referees because there are so many physical battles going on," Hodgson said. "It's difficult to work out whether the defender fouls the forward or the forward fouls the defender. Please forgive us if our frustration boils over on the touchline from time to time." Deluded. Nothing more, nothing less.