Stoke manager Tony Pulis hopes Ricardo Fuller will hit the goal trail after his solitary strike - his first in the Barclays Premier League this season - was enough to beat Portsmouth at the Britannia Stadium.

In a match of few chances Potters goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen saved Kevin-Prince Boateng's eighth-minute penalty after Rory Delap had kicked Aruna Dindane in the face.

Fuller then struck 16 minutes from time with a smart turn and shot from the edge of the penalty area after Matthew Etherington and Dean Whitehead had exchanged passes.

Pulis admitted he was just about to replace Fuller with Tuncay Sanli seconds before.

"I'm really delighted I didn't. He looked nervous two weeks ago against Hull and he looked nervous yesterday and I think not scoring a goal has made him a little bit edgy," said Pulis.

"He is a very confident lad and he breeds off his confidence so that will give him a great lift and I'm absolutely delighted with him."

Stoke started slowly and could have been caught cold by the penalty and Pulis admitted he was disappointed with the first-half performance.

"I thought it was as poor as we have played and Thomas (Sorensen) has changed the game with his penalty save," said Pulis, whose side moved up to ninth after the result.

"Saying all that the lads really worked hard and I think we restricted Portsmouth to a couple of long-range shots, I don't think they really created anything else apart from the penalty.

"We were a little bit better in the second half and it was a great three points for us.

"It was a quality goal: a quality move and a quality finish.

"To have played 13 games and got 19 points we are absolutely delighted with."

Portsmouth manager Paul Hart allayed fears over goalkeeper David James' fitness after the England international was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced in the starting line-up by Jamie Ashdown.

The 39-year-old had a knee operation at the end of last season and has admitted he does suffer with "irritation" but the latest setback is a calf problem.

Only a week ago James said he was confident of being fit for this summer's World Cup after England coach Fabio Capello insisted he would not take any players to South Africa who were carrying injuries.

Hart agreed with his goalkeeper, although he said it was too early to assess the seriousness of this latest injury.

"He pulled a calf muscle warming up," said Hart.

"The World Cup is in June, a calf muscle is usually about three weeks. I think he will be fit for the World Cup.

"We are managing the situation (regarding James' knee) at the moment and up until now he has been out on the pitch.

"He has to do some gym work to help him through it but he has been there and it has not been a real problem."

Hart felt his side deserved more out of the game, especially after Boateng's penalty miss.

"You can't legislate for missing a penalty," he added.

"I thought we played well, defended extremely well and controlled the game for most of it.

"To say we are disappointed not to have something from it is an understatement."