TONY PULIS admitted that Stoke City's FA Cup third round tie was in "grave doubt" before eventually going ahead with a half hour delay at the Britannia Stadium.

Referee Mike Jones had intended to postpone the match if Blue Square Premier League high-fliers York City had not arrived by the time of the scheduled 3.00pm kick-off.

And Pulis indicated after City's 3-1 victory in the tie that he didn't think York's team coach would make it in time for the game to go ahead at a later time of 3.30pm.

"They were still a good distance away when the kick-off was delayed and we didn't think they were going to get here in time due to all the traffic problems," he said.

"We are so set in our ways, our pre-match routines that it does set you back when you get that sort of delay and uncertainty, so preparation for the game wasn't brilliant. That was probably a factor in us only springing to life after we had fallen a goal behind.

"They'll probably be disappointed that they didn't hold onto their lead for longer, but the way York battled was a credit to their club and to their large following of fans."

He added: "It would be great to have a good run in the cup this season and all I would wish for now is another home tie when the draw is made tomorrow."

As he had indicated before the match, Pulis fielded a strong side because of the disruption that has been caused to City's training routines over the past few days.

"We haven't been able to train as hard or with the same intensity as usual due to the bad weather, so I decided to cut back on that and play a strong side in what is going to be a three-game week with Fulham to come on Tuesday evening," explained the manager.

York manager Martin Foyle believes that Rory Delap's long throws could be the weapon that keeps Stoke City in the Premier League for another season.

Former Port Vale man Foyle saw his York side struggle to deal with the threat from Delap's throws as they conceded two goals in a minute after going in front.

"We defended well against them on the training ground, but couldn't cope with the real thing," he commented.

"The trajectory of Rory's missiles are so hard to pick, my players said it was easier to defend against corners. They're certainly a fantastic asset for Stoke and should have a big part to play in them staying in the Premier League."

Foyle defended York's decision to travel down on the day of the match after they had been held up by bad weather and serious congestion on the M6 motorway.

"Some people have suggested that we should have come down overnight, but we left York at 10.15am and we felt that gave us ample time," he said.

"It was just unfortunate that there was so much disruption on the roads, but Stoke were great about and the referee was very understanding too."