Pulis proud despite Potters’ Europa exit
STOKE may be out of Europe but their players and fans have ensured they will not be forgotten, according to manager Tony Pulis.
The Europa League is a much-maligned competition but Stoke embraced it,
winning seven of their 12 matches and coming through a tough group
containing Besiktas and Dynamo Kyiv before finally falling to European
heavyweights Valencia in the last 32.
Defeat at home in the first leg left the Potters with a mountain to climb last
night, and they might have managed it had Kenwyne Jones taken one of two
glorious opportunities, but he fluffed his lines and Jonas’ 24th-minute goal
earned Los Che a 1-0 win on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.
Praised
Pulis praised the club’s fans for turning up in such large numbers to roar the
side on at the Mestalla.
He said: “They were fantastic and they will remember this. We estimated
nearly 7,000 all around the ground and they were brilliant.”
Valencia boss Unai Emery, whose side face PSV Eindhoven in the last 16, also
praised the massed ranks of visiting fans, saying: “I was very
surprised at all the fans who came over and were 100pc behind their team.
That’s something to admire.”
Stoke still have a chance to qualify for the competition again through the FA
Cup, where they will face Liverpool in the quarter-finals next month, but
for now Pulis must turn his attentions to ending a worrying run of four
straight Premier League defeats when Swansea visit the Britannia on Sunday.
– Eleanor Crooks