Tony Pulis was not surprised by his team's second-half comeback as Stoke stormed to the top of the Championship after beating Scunthorpe.Pulis' men overturned a two-goal deficit in 14 exhilarating minutes to win 3-2 and have now lost just once in their last 17 league matches, winning their last four.

"We gave away two soft goals in the first half but the spirit of these players is never in question," said Pulis.

"There were no cups of tea thrown at half-time, but we had a good chat. I told them we've all stuck together for 30-odd games and now was the time for them to really show their colours.

"The first 25 minutes of football we produced in the second half was fantastic. They all did their bit but Ricardo Fuller is a special player for us and Liam Lawrence is also having a brilliant season.

"It's vital we win these sort of games because last season we slipped up against the likes of Southend and Barnsley and that cost us dearly

"The staff and the players also convey a really big thank you to the fans. They were as vocal as I've every heard them in the second half and the place was buzzing.

"It is good to hit the top of the league, but I'd much rather be there in 13 games time. There is a lot of work to do yet."

Stoke's largest league attendance of the season, 20,979, created a terrific noise of anticipation in the early stages.

But they were soon stunned when their former striker Martin Paterson sneaked behind a square home defence to net his 13th goal of the season.

Matt Sparrow lifted the ball forward and Paterson was away in a flash to place his shot underneath the advancing Steve Simonsen.

Stoke were shaken and still struggling to regain their composure when the Iron scored a second in the 23rd minute.

Again there were question marks over the home rearguard as Jack Hobbs was allowed a free header to power in from Ian Morris' left-wing corner.

Leon Cort and Fuller went close to reducing the arrears before the break but Scunthorpe's impressive efforts deserved their half-time cushion.

Stoke's fightback started eight minutes after the break when man of the match Lawrence buried an angled drive after Scunthorpe failed to deal with a monster throw from Rory Delap.

And it was no surprise when City, with the noise from the fans close to deafening, drew level in the 62nd minute.

Fuller pulled Lawrence's throw in back from the byline and substitute Richard Cresswell's shot touched Murphy's fingers on its way in.

City's 66th-minute winner was down to the brilliance of Fuller, who went on a storming run to leave three defenders trailing before setting up Lawrence's second.

Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins said: "I'm feeling it (the pressure) and I'm really down at the moment. But I will get myself back up for Tuesday's game at Wolves.

"Nobody gave us a chance coming here but the players were superb in the first half. Everyone thought we would get a good hiding but that didn't happen.

"There are a lot of positives from that, but all the three goals we conceded in the second half could have been avoided.

"There was some poor marking at set-pieces. They were bad goals.

"Good luck to Stoke. They increased the tempo in the second half and the fans got right behind them. They forced us to make errors and made it hard for us to keep the football.

"But I'm very proud of the players and our destiny remains in our own hands."

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