Bosun Lawal’s first goal for Stoke earned them a deserved 1-0 Championship win over Birmingham at the Bet365 Stadium.
The Irish defender headed in Aaron Cresswell’s 21st-minute corner to hand last season’s runaway League One champions a third successive defeat in all competitions.
Mark Robins’ only complaint would be that his much-improved side failed to make the final outcome more comfortable.
Birmingham, beaten 2-0 at Leicester before the international break, were fortunate not to be further behind at half-time.
And while Blues improved in a much less eventful second half, they lacked a cutting edge to save a point or even threaten a third league win since their second-tier arrival.
For Stoke, who handed a debut to impressive Slovakia international Tomas Rigo, it was the perfect way to rally from their previous home defeat by West Brom.
They have now won four of their first five league games and look set for their most productive campaign in years.
The home side had already warned Birmingham of their intent, minutes before centre-half Lawal broke the deadlock.
Ryan Allsop saved a Divin Mubama header, though the newly-capped England Under-21 international was immediately flagged offside.
There was nothing wrong with the striker’s next effort, a neat flick to meet Million Manhoef’s superb cross from the right.
Allsop saved at the expense of a corner but moments later was picking the ball out of his net.
Cresswell’s delivery was a deep one, Lawal jumped highest and looped the ball over Allsop and into the far corner.
Stoke surged forward in search of a second goal and keeper Victor Johansson’s long punt reached the unmarked Sorba Thomas.
His angled shot was a fierce one but fortuitously for Blues it smacked against an upright and cannoned behind for a corner.
Little had been seen of Jay Stansfield, back in harness after missing the defeat at Leicester with an ankle injury.
But six minutes from half-time he connected with Ethan Laird’s cross, only for Lawal to produce a timely block.
Stansfield had a clearer chance after 52 minutes but shot wide from Tommy Doyle’s delivery.
Six minutes later the striker was sent clear by Doyle’s raking pass and appeared to have suffered more ankle trouble under Ben Wilmot’s brilliant tackle.
But he soldiered on and was not part of a triple substitution on the hour as Birmingham boss Chris Davies sought a way back into the contest.
Substitute Lewis Koumas provided one such opportunity but Demarai Gray’s final volley was a poor one.
Birmingham enjoyed plenty of possession in the final 20 minutes but did not produce one shot on target in the entire contest.
The managers
Stoke’s Mark Robins:
“We needed to start like we had in the previous games apart from the West Brom game. That was below par and I don’t want to be saying that too often.
“But the start we made, the intensity we showed and the quality we showed – because there was some brilliant attacking football – I was really pleased with.
“The only criticism is we need to be more clinical. If you have an extra touch and that gets closed down and the opportunity to shoot gets closed down it is frustrating for everybody.
“Otherwise, the level of commitment, the running, the intensity of that running and the brains they showed to close down and press was outstanding.
“To a man everybody played their part and I’m over moon to win the game because it was really tight.”
Birmingham’s Chris Davies:
“We started the game too slowly. That was the reason for the defeat. We were too slow to win duels, second balls and didn’t impose ourselves in what was going to be a challenging start.
“That culminated in them scoring a goal from a set piece, which was disappointing. To head it from that far away and to end up in the net, we didn’t do enough with first contact and then it loops in the net.
“It was frustrating to concede like that because ultimately it put them in a strong position and gave us a mountain to climb. Like our last match, we were on the back foot early because of that.