The 17 minutes of added time was about as welcome as another plate of beige leftovers, but Stoke got through them and go into the final fixture of the festive period at Norwich off the back of a win that feels like it could be worth much more than three points.
Context is key as always and Stoke came into this dealing with a whole host of very different problems.
On a poor run of form that had gone on for 10 games, and three days on from a home defeat that saw sections of the fanbase register their displeasure, they needed a result to stay in touch with a top six they had looked certain to remain a part of 14 games into the season.