Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was in a buoyant mood after his side defeated Leyton Orient 1-0 in the Carling Cup overnight.

Pulis took a new-look Potters side to London for the clash, which saw Dave Kitson net his first goal in Stoke colours.

"I thought Orient played their part," said Pulis. "They had great chances and took us on. It was end to end at times.

"Some of our players hadn't played for a month. They kept going and had some good spirit."

Pulis was happy for Kitson who finally scored after his £5.5million move from Reading 14 months ago and now expects him to go on and make an impact for the club.

"Kitson scored a great goal to win the game. He should not struggle with confidence the way our supporters have been behind him," Pulis added.

"I have never known anything like it when a player you bring in doesn't hit the back of the net but he is still adored by the fans.

"They have been fantastic with him. He had enough opportunities but it was a great strike. It was a worthy goal to win the game.

"Dave has been unlucky at times. He had a bad year last year with things away from football as well. But he has got his head down and looks a lot sharper this year.

"I am just hoping he will now score a few more."