Stoke looked to have the luck on their side when Jonathan Walters barged into the Bolton keeper causing him to drop the ball before it and himself ended up in the back of the net.
But two fluke goals from the Trotters put them in front and showed that the luck was not all on Stoke’s side.
And when Walters netted from the spot after Crouch had been felled in the box, the writing was on the wall for Bolton and Stoke didn’t need their third from Cameron Jerome that was ruled out for offside.
"I’m disappointed for Owen and Bolton. It’s a reminder to everyone in this league that you have to keep pushing on, it’s such a tough league,"Pulis told reporters.
"We got told when we went into the dressing room that City were losing and United were winning, so, within three minutes, four minutes, it had completely changed."
However, Pulis was pleased with the professionalism his side showed.
He added: "The thing about the Premier League is that it’s the toughest league in the world. We have a responsibility as a football club –and I think we did at QPR last week – to do the best we possibly can, irrespective of whether you’re playing against mates or you’ve got a soft-spot for another team.
"The first 20-25 minutes I thought we were on top and then coming into the dressing room at half-time I thought it was going to be Bolton’s day [with] with two bizarre goals.
"But obviously the draw wasn’t good enough for Bolton.
"You take your eye off the ball and you’re in trouble. There’s teams in the Championship with more Premier League experience than Stoke City and ask yourselves why they’re in the Championship."