Stoke snatch vital victory

Robert Huth grabbed a last-gasp winner as Stoke fought back against Aston Villa to pinch their first points of the season.

German defender grabs last-gasp winner

Stoke came from behind to claim their first points of the Premier League season as Robert Huth's last-gasp winner snatched victory against Aston Villa. The Potters began brightly despite the absence of manager Tony Pulis after his mother passed away but Villa finished the first half strongly and claimed a deserved lead through a superb diving header by Stewart Downing. Pulis then arrived on the touchline just after the restart and saw his Stoke side gradually get on top as they avoided their worst-ever start to a league season. Ricardo Fuller and new signing Jermaine Pennant made a significant impact from the bench before Matthew Etherington crossed for Kenwyne Jones to head an 80th-minute equaliser. The Potters continued to pour forward and in the third minute of stoppage time, Etherington turned a Pennant free-kick back into the box, where defender Huth glanced the ball inside the far post to leave Villa shell-shocked.

Managers absent

While Stoke's assistant boss Dave Kemp took charge for the first half in Pulis' absence, Villa were also without their manager in the dug-out. Gerard Houllier is yet to inherit the reins due to his commitments with the French Football Federation, and could yet miss Saturday's date with Bolton. And Villa were on the back foot as Stoke had the better of a lively opening but they failed to make their pressure pay. Huth's shot deflected off Stephen Warnock while Jones had a shot blocked by Villa keeper Brad Friedel following a through-ball by fellow new-boy Marc Wilson, one of three deadline-day signings. Having headed Etherington's right-wing corner wide, Jones then produced a brilliant piece of skill to chest down Thomas Sorensen's clearance and hit a swerving left-footed volley on the turn which Friedel had to parry away. Villa then began to take charge, with young winger Marc Albrighton giving Danny Collins a tough time at left-back. Nigel Reo-Coker kept his place ahead of the fit-again Stephen Ireland and was involved several times in the build-up to the opening goal.

Well-worked opener

Albrighton cut in from the right before Reo-Coker laid off to Gabriel Agbonlahor, whose diagonal ball found Huth out of position on the left and Downing directed a fine diving header beyond Sorensen and in off the far post. Stoke had a strong penalty shout turned down when Jones' header struck James Collins' arm but referee Lee Probert deemed it was not deliberate handball. Ashley Young should then have doubled Villa's lead as he sent a free header wide from a fine left-wing cross by Agbonlahor. As the half drew to a close Sorensen was the busier goalkeeper, batting away Collins' close-range drive and then clawing out another Downing effort from Albrighton's deep right-wing cross. Pulis made an emotional appearance at the start of the second half to take up his position in the technical area, immediately giving the crowd and his team a lift. Five minutes after the restart Friedel kept out Jones' header from Etherington's free-kick, with the goalkeeper then pawing away Rory Delap's long throw under pressure from the Trinidad and Tobago international as Etherington's follow-up was blocked. Stoke were back in the ascendancy but their hard work was almost undone by a misunderstanding between Ryan Shawcross and Sorensen which resulted in Reo-Coker blocking the goalkeeper's clearance with the ball flying over the crossbar for a goal-kick.

Late equaliser

However, the Potters' endeavour finally paid off when Fuller combined with Etherington on the left and the winger crossed for Jones to guide a header inside the far post for his first goal since his £8million move from Sunderland in the summer. The club-record signing then pulled out his trademark somersault celebration but despite the equaliser, Stoke still had to be alert and Collins deflected Reo-Coker's shot behind in the last five minutes. Fuller's response was to turn James Collins on the edge of the Villa box and force a near-post save from Friedel. Three minutes of stoppage time were then indicated and with time almost up, Pennant's free-kick was cleared as far as Shawcross, who squared for Etherington to hit a low ball back into the danger zone and Huth side-footed the ball inside the far post for Stoke's first league win of the season while denying Villa third place.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Aston Villa
2	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
9	Shots on Target	5
8	Shots off Target	4
5	Blocked Shots	2
8	Corners	7
12	Fouls	14
2	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
64.1	Passing Success	71.6
15	Tackles	21
80	Tackles Success	71.4
42.9	Possession	57.1
48.9	Territorial Advantage	51.1