TONY PULIS saluted his two central defenders for their part in Stoke City's second Premier League victory of the season after Dave Kitson's first half goal settled the encounter with Sunderland at the Britannia Stadium.
City kept their third clean sheet in four Premier League games as highly-rated Ryan Shawcross and captain Abdoulaye Faye managed to blunt the threat posed by Sunderland's strike pair Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent.
"I am very pleased with the outcome because they have quite a bit of artillery up front but the longer the game went on the stronger they got," said the Potters' manager. "They did a fantastic job to keep those two quiet."
Pulis was also delighted to see £5.5 million striker Kitson score his second goal in the space of three days after finally opening his account for the Club in the Carling Cup second round tie at Leyton Orient on Wednesday night.
"I have never known anything like what Dave has been through these last 12 months," he added. "Strikers rely on scoring goals for confidence and he's been through a wretched time waiting so long for his first goal for the Club.
"But the fans have been fantastic , they have kept on encouraging him and he has certainly come back a lot brighter this season."
Steve Bruce revealed afterwards that the ball was now in Danny Collins' court as to whether he becomes another signing for City.
Bruce confirmed that the two clubs had reached an agreement over a transfer fee for the 29-year-old Welsh international defender and then added: "We'll now leave it up to Danny what he chooses to do about his future."
The Sunderland manager was disappointed with the way his defence had handled the pressure which City had exerted throughout the game.
"We have conceded another goal from a corner kick, just as we did against Chelsea and Blackburn, as well as in some of our pre-season matches. The ball coming into the box is our Achilles heel and we struggle desperately to defend it.
"I have to ask the question are we brave enough to deal with situations like. If we're not then we going to come unstuck at this level."
