The Potters went into the match in Istanbul already certain of qualification and knowing a draw would be enough to keep them in top spot, and they took the lead completely against the run of play through Ricardo Fuller in the 29th minute. The hosts had piled on the pressure from the start, though, and the game turned when Matthew Upson was shown a red card for bringing down Hugo Almeida in the box and Manuel Fernandes netted a 59th-minute penalty. With a man advantage and the raucous Inonu Stadium crowd in full voice, it seemed only a matter of time before Besiktas took the lead, and the second goal came in the 74th minute from Mustafa Pektemek before fellow substitute Edu added some gloss to the scoreline eight minutes later. The result was enough to ensure it was Besiktas who won the group, but Pulis, who left all 11 players that had started against Tottenham last weekend at home and brought a squad of only 15, was not downhearted. He said: "It was a really good performance. The first quarter of an hour we were a little bit on the back foot, we looked like a team who hadn't played together for a while, then unfortunately Andy (Wilkinson) had to go off, he felt his back again. "Then the goal went in and we looked very comfortable. For all their possession in the first half, we had the three best chances with the goal, the one that Cameron (Jerome) had when he was played through and when Ric hit the post. We've gone down with a bit of glory today." It was undeniably a disappointing result after a run of seven wins and two draws from their first nine games in the competition, and failing to top the group means Stoke are likely to get a tougher tie in the last 32 when the draw is made on Friday. Pulis, though, was in no mood to dwell on negatives, highlighting their achievement in qualifying ahead of Dynamo Kiev and praising his players for the way they performed in a notoriously hostile atmosphere. "We've finished above Kiev and we've given Besiktas two very good games, especially when it was 11 against 11," said the Welshman. "Every one of the players who played today has done absolutely fantastic for us and even when we went down to 10 men they just kept working and kept going. "I was told it was going to be an interesting trip coming to Turkey, and it's certainly been that. This is all new to me. I was told I would experience different things and I have, but I thought the players handled it well." The negative side of the terrific atmosphere was two incidents where Stoke players were apparently hit by objects thrown from the crowd, first Fuller after he had scored and then Jermaine Pennant as he prepared to take a second-half corner. Pulis, though, insisted they would not report the incident to UEFA, saying: "We won't be complaining to anyone. We're Stoke and we don't complain. Hopefully we'll have benefited from all this." Pennant also seemed keen not to make a fuss about the treatment he received, and he said: "I was about to take a corner and I was getting pelted with everything; lighters, Euro coins, I was thinking of picking one up and putting it in my sock! "I didn't want to take it because every second I could see things flying past me. Until that stopped I didn't feel comfortable taking the corner and then obviously the referee called me away. "I've played here before so I know what the atmosphere's like. They had a lot of possession and a lot of creativity but with 11 men we were holding on. The penalty and going down to 10 men just put us right on the back foot and they got hold of the game."
