IN A language that their venerable friend from The Emirates stadium might understand, Stoke competed hard in the rucks and mauls, won their fair share of high ball in the lineouts, were never found wanting in the scrum and did themselves justice in the loose, writes Martin Spinks.

Only the two penalties conceded, too, and neither one for gouging, stamping or impersonating a Frenchman.

And get this Professor Wenger, not one single assault on the Chelsea goalkeeper, not even from the big blond brute of a lock forward you keep kicking in public.

True, there's one or two faces in the Stoke line-up that could no doubt hold their own if need be at Twickers – Wilkinson and Huth spring instantly to mind – and you wouldn't bet against Abdoulaye Faye outstaring 15 wide-eyed New Zealanders at the Haka either.

But in all honesty, your highness, Stoke were only 100 square passes away from producing the kind of display of which you would have been so proud had you been given the same circumstances as that Welsh upstart you disrespect so much.

Fans arrived at Stamford Bridge concerned more about the scoreline than the result against a Chelsea side boasting 47 goals in their last 10 Premier League games – including seven against Stoke in April – and whose odds to win were something like 11/1 on with most bookies.

But Stoke not only lost with their pride and dignity firmly intact, they remained competitive enough for long enough to have harboured genuine hopes of stealing their first Premier League point in five attempts against their rampantly on-form hosts.

Had either Matthew Etherington or Glenn Whelan netted with two close calls at 1-0 in the second half, we may still have seen Chelsea step up a gear and romp home. Who knows? But it would have been fun finding out.

But there was no such guarantee. For while Chelsea did indeed carve Stoke open on enough occasions to have won far more comfortably than they did, they were never ruthless enough in front of goal to threaten a repeat of the multiple-goal mauling routinely meted out to the small fry these days.

Stoke's attempts to shackle Ashley Cole down the left by depositing Wilkinson in a role that began as right midfield but ended up as right-back met with only partial success as the England full-back rolled one wide of the far post and smacked another against the bar during a particularly fruitful first-half spell.

And Chelsea's neat exchanges and pinpoint through balls U-turned a diligent back five far too often for comfort for those of us counting down the minutes from the first whistle.

Ambitious hopes of a clean sheet persisted, however, for as long as Thomas Sorensen threatened to enjoy an afternoon mixing fortune and inspiration in the big Dane's favour.

It was his low save to his left that left Frank Lampard failing from the penalty spot for only the third time in 30 attempts, in the 10th minute, while the giant keeper did well in the end to palm Didier Drogba's dipping free-kick away from his face just five minutes later.

The goal Chelsea deserved arrived wrapped in some controversy as Kenwyne Jones, having spurned offers of an early withdrawal to protect an injured ankle, appeared to be fouled on half-way before John Terry strode forward and sent Florent Malouda clear to shoot past Sorensen.

The afternoon may have taken a far uglier twist for Stoke had Drogba not deposited a free header straight at Sorensen soon after the restart in an incident summing up the big striker's mixed afternoon. It was an escape Stoke deserved, however, and not just for the durable defence and sheer graft we might have anticipated on Saturday.

There was also a willingness to move forward with far more than just a hopeful lump goalwards to the figure of Jones as the likes of Etherington attacked with fearless calculation rather than futile individualism.

Sadly, such endeavour was destined to go unrewarded.

Etherington himself controlled and hooked a loose ball against Drogba some four yards off the Chelsea goal-line on 52 minutes, while Whelan's impressive cameo from the bench was highlighted by the sight of a 25-yarder clattering the underside of the crossbar on 66.

Not quite a Chris Foy moment, that one, but a tasty wake-up call for Chelsea as their 1-0 lead tottered ever so slightly.

Stoke's share of possession remained thoroughly admirable, given the opposition, but they could ill-afford the kind of liberty with which Dean Whitehead was punished when smuggled out of possession on half-way by Drogba.

His subsequent through ball possessed sufficient back spin to turn Sorensen from slight favourite to slight outsider in the blink of an eye as he and Nicolas Anelka converged with fatal consequences for the Dane and his mistimed challenge.

Sensible refereeing ensured he remained on the field to face Drogba's penalty – Lampard had already retired injured – but the keeper dived to his left and the ball rocketed to his right to finish the contest with 13 minutes remaining.

So it is three games and three defeats, but the second half against Tottenham and both halves against Chelsea provide sufficient cause to anticipate an upward turn in fortunes sooner rather than later.

Forthcoming fixtures at home to Aston Villa and, more particularly, West Ham provide every opportunity and little excuse for a Stoke line-up subject to potentially considerable change over the next 24 hours.

And they can always find a role for a certain Frenchman, a genuine flanker if ever there was one.