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Town's Carling Cup run came to a run with a 2-1 defeat against a strong Stoke City side.

It was a real game of two halves with Town working hard and creating in both but it was Stoke who clinically took their chances.

In the second half Town began to edge more into the game as an attacking force and a Steve Leslie goal late on gave them a glimmer of hope. In the end it was Stoke City who go into the hat for the next round but Town can leave the Britannia Stadium with their heads held high.

After the game Town manager Graham Turner spoke to the press and was asked for his thoughts on the game:"It was a great effort from the team in the first half but we may have been a little bit too cautious in the first.

"You come to a Premier League ground and it's not case of being overawed but a case of being a little bit off the pace of Premiership players and we gave Stoke a little bit too much room.

"Saying that we did have a lot of the ball at times but didn't really look like hurting them too much with it or getting too much penetration into their back lads.

"In the second half we were a little bit freer in our attitude and pushed on to create some interesting positions.

"Maybe if the goal had come a little earlier we might have got back into it, but maybe we were just that little bit too cautious over the game and should have made more of the positions we got in the second half.

"We've had a good go at it this evening but the bread and butter is the league and we will now focus on that. The players can take a few accolades from the game but the important thing is now Saturday."

When the team sheets came to the press box a lot of eyebrows were raised at the strength of the Stoke side that manager Tony Pulis had named. It didn't surprise the Town manager who had expected the home side to look for the win:"It's not unexpected, you look at the results that they've had in the opening league games they needed a confidence boost.

"They've got some good players, some physically strong players and they have that movement in the box that caused us to concede the two goals.

"We were missing the likes of Lionel Ainsworth, Matt Harrold and Daniel O'Donnell but the players who came in today did really well."

The one disappointment for the Town manager from the game was the ease that Stoke had grabbed their goals. He was pleased with the second half fightback and hopes his side can take strength from that:"We know they have got some big lads in there and we dealt with the majority of the set pieces really well.

"There was a bit of movement on the first one and it was a well worked goal, we don't normally come up against the type of movement that Walters did to get in front.

"For the second goal we allowed the lad too much room in out box and were punished for that which is a disappointment.

"The fight back in the second half was pleasing and that is something to be positive about."

Town were cheered on by over 2000 travelling fans who backed the team from the first whistle until the final. Turner has been buoyed by the reaction his side has got from the fans so far this season:"I think it's something like 17 years since the club went to a top flight ground and it's been a long wait.

"I hope they've enjoyed it this evening and I hope they go home content and reasonably happy with what they've seen from us.

"What I have liked from the fans is that I think they are seeing the way we are trying to play and when we have struggled they have appreciated that we are trying to pass and move the ball."