Pulis proud of fighting effort

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis said he was proud his side fought back to earn a point late at Norwich City on Sunday.

Jon Walters missed a second half penalty – earned via Norwich defender Leon Barnett’s red card – but Stoke did not panic, netting via the head of striker Kenwyne Jones in injury time to finish the game 1-1.

“We kept going. I thought the first half was not really the pace of the game and the tempo that we play at, I thought we were a little bit flat, but you’ve got to give credit to Norwich. I thought Norwich were smashing,” Pulis told Sky Sports.

The foul on Walters that led to the penalty and sending off was dubious, with replays showing contact from Barnett was made outside the area, however Pulis said his side should have had a spot kick sooner.

“We were disappointed we never got a penalty (in the) first half – I’ve just watched on television Ritchie de Laet’s challenge on Jon Walters, it’s a poor challenge, and the referee’s there, so we’re disappointed with that decision,” he said.

Jermaine Pennant was substituted off injured after just half an hour, with Pulis admitting the winger had knee troubles.

“He’s had a little bit of a problem with a ligament just above his knee, and he felt this after about ten minutes, a quarter of an hour,” Pulis said.

“We let it go just to see if it got any reaction or not, but it just kept sticking out and it got tighter and we’ve taken him off.”

Norwich manager Paul Lambert was unconvinced by the referee’s decision to award a penalty against his side, but was pleased with the standard of football he had seen since their return to the Premier League.

“I thought the performance was excellent, I thought we played really, really well today,” Lambert said.

“The penalty changed the course of the game, albeit they missed it but it put us on the back foot with 10 men.”

“I saw the (Barnett) incident several times and he’s miles outside the box, why the referee gave it I don’t know. I know there is a chance if you’re the last man to get sent off but the penalty incident in my view is not one.”