Saido Berahino is our Harry Kane, says Tony Pulis
Saturday 27 February 2016 21:00, UK
West Brom boss Tony Pulis hailed the impact of Saido Berahino after the striker scored in their 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday - claiming the striker is as important to his side as Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy are to theirs.
Craig Gardner and Craig Dawson gave West Brom a two-goal lead before Berahino added a third in the 31st minute at The Hawthorns.
It was a fourth straight start for the 22-year-old striker after a stop-start first half of the season that saw him linked with a move away from West Brom in both transfer windows.
"I think the big thing is that we've missed him for half a season," Pulis told Saturday Night Football. "Him and Salomon [Rondon] together, when they play are a handful and unfortunately we haven't had it.
"If you take [Harry] Kane out of Tottenham and [Jamie] Vardy out of Leicester it's a massive hole for those teams, and Saido is as good for us as those two are for their clubs."
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Pulis also praised his side for the way they held on for victory after Crystal Palace threatened a second-half comeback.
Connor Wickham struck in the 49th minute and then again in the 80th minute, but it wasn't enough as the Baggies secured the three points.
"The first quarter of an hour of the second half was very important for us and we just needed to make sure we were nice and solid," said Pulis.
"But it [Palace's first goal] gave them a leg up and their second goal was a fantastic strike - and then you're on edge. Fair play to our lads we saw it out and it was a great result for us.
"We haven't lost at our place since Boxing Day so we're doing okay if you look at the circumstances. We're missing [James] Morrison who is a fantastic player for us and we've had Brunty [Chris Brunt] out and it looks like he's going to be out again, and Saido's not been around.
"A team in our position needs their best players on the pitch. The lads have done fantastically to get to 35 points and there are still 11 games to go."
