Source: Team_Talk
Pulis purring after victory
Tony Pulis was delighted to see Stoke come from behind and beat Besiktas 2-1 in the Europa League as he rates the Turks a "massive danger".[LNB] The Turkish visitors went ahead just before the quarter-hour mark when Roberto Hilbert struck into the far corner having latched on to Ricardo Quaresma's pass, but their lead lasted only a minute, goalkeeper Rustu Recber unable to claim Dean Whitehead's corner and Peter Crouch on hand to bundle the ball over the line.[LNB]The two sides, roared on by their equally-vociferous sets of fans, played out an entertaining contest from there, with both hitting the woodwork.[LNB]Substitute Jon Walters then settled things in the 78th minute, hammering a penalty past Rustu after Crouch had been brought down by Tomas Sivok, to secure all three points for Stoke and send them top of Group E.[LNB]Potters boss Pulis had been to Istanbul on Sunday to watch Besiktas play and knew they were always going to pose a threat.[LNB]"They are a very, very good side - I said it before the game," Pulis said.[LNB]"They have some good players, and some of them that played today had been rested on Sunday.[LNB]"We think they are a massive danger in this group, so we are very pleased with the result.[LNB]"I thought in the first half they played very well, outnumbered us in midfield and moved the ball very quickly. At times we were chasing the ball.[LNB]"But in the second half we made some changes, pushed on a bit and caused them a few more problems.[LNB]"On another day we could have scored three or four goals."[LNB]One of Stoke's substitutions in the second half was enforced, with Matthew Etherington having to come off for Jermaine Pennant shortly after the restart.[LNB]Etherington's condition will be assessed ahead of the Barclays Premier League trip to Swansea on Sunday.[LNB]"Matty has got a little strain, so we will have to wait to see what he is like," Pulis said.[LNB]Besiktas coach Carlos Carvalhal was unhappy with referee Antony Gautier's decision to award the spot-kick and also thought his side should have had a penalty of their own.[LNB]"Stoke won, but they were not the best team on the field - in my opinion, that was my team," Carvalhal said.[LNB]"If you give a penalty in that situation, in these matches there will be 10 or 20 penalties, because players come together all the time.[LNB]"The officials also didn't see a handball in the area, and we are not comfortable with this."[LNB]As far as Pulis was concerned, though, there was no debate to be had about the incident that led to the Potters' winner.[LNB]He said: "I haven't seen it, but it is a penalty because the referee gave it."
