Stoke City were left regretting rash decisions that saw them reduced to nine men, as they were defeated 1-0 by West Brom on Saturday.
Both Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam were handed straight reds by referee Michael Oliver within the first half, before Salomon Rondon made a difficult task near on impossible by scoring on the stroke of half-time.
There was a sweet metaphor for Stoke's development in the air early on, as club record signing Xherdan Shaqiri made his home debut against the backdrop of Tony Pulis returning to the Britannia for the first time since his departure in 2013.
No contempt for the tracksuit wearing icon was felt around the ground, a welcome greeting for a man who brought Stoke into the Premier League. The home fans instead spent the pre-match rituals serenading their new signings, a mark of the progress they have made under Mark Hughes, since the break-off from Pulis.
Exciting start for Stoke
It was indeed the high profile man, Shaqiri, who had the first chance of the game, fashioned from a set-piece routine that Pulis himself would have been proud of.
Having a short corner backheeled back into his path, the Swiss international whipped a left-footed shot towards goal, with it flying just wide of Boaz Myhill's right-hand post.
Glen Johnson was looking more of a threat down the wing than he had done in previous games, with the number eight at first seeing a shot blocked, before helping to create a chance.
Laying the ball off to Adam, Johnson had dragged enough defenders out of position for the Scotsman to find Mame Diouf in the box, however his header went straight at the goalkeeper.
At the other end, the Baggies were looking limited going forward, but did manage to force Jack Butland into one excellent save before things turned nasty.
Stoke failed to clear their lines from a routine attack, leaving James Morrison with a free shot at goal, however Butland's outstretched hand denied him the opener, with the 'keeper met by chants of 'England's number one', ahead of Sunday's squad announcement for the upcoming European qualifiers.
Eleven became nine
After making a bright start to the game, it was hoped that City would kick on and take the lead before half-time, however it turned out hugely differently, as they were reduced to nine men in a freak 10 minutes spell.
Still in the early stage of his Stoke career, Afellay wasn't enjoying the best of days, and was reaching tipping point when a barge from Craig Gardner left him rolling over an advertising hoarding.
Minutes later, his anger got the better of him, as he went down under a challenge from the West Brom player, and reacted by raising a hand to his face. By the letter of the law, that was a straight red card, and Michael Oliver made his decision quickly.
Replays did show that Gardner was infact the first player to raise his hand, however he was only awarded a yellow card, leading to an infuriated Hughes insisting that "both players should have gone", during his post-match interview.
The sending off that followed, that of Charlie Adam, was a much clearer decision for the officials to make.
After Diouf's near miss, lifting the ball over Myhill only for it to be headed out, had regained some momentum for the Potters, Adam banished it with one quick stamp.
A seemingly fair tackle on Craig Dawson had seen the ball run out for a throw, however Dawson and Adam remained with their legs tangled, and the frustrated midfielder planted a foot on Dawson's thigh - right under the watchful eye of the linesman.
His flag was up, and after a quick chat on the microphone's, so was the referee's red-card. Adam couldn't believe it, however you have to wonder why, with the challenge looking as intentional as they come.
Rondon revels in the sunshine
Rickie Lambert had come on as the Baggies took a more attacking approach in reaction to the two man advantage, and he looked to take the initiative straight away, firing a shot at goal which Butland could only push over his crossbar.
The breakthrough did come before half-time though, Lambert this time the provider, as he floated a lovely ball over the defence. Record signing Rondon was on the end of it, nodding the ball back across Butland's goal, as it dropped into the right hand corner.
It was a bitter blow for Stoke, forcing Hughes to tear up his planning for the second half, leaving them with mission impossible.
The players walked off to chants of '1-0 to the referee', but in truth they only had two names to blame - the only two players who had decided to take an early bath.
Going for the kill after the interval, Rondon nodded over the bar from close range in the 50th minute, before Darren Fletcher flashed an effort wide of the goal.
No miracle comeback
Playing with Diouf and Shaqiri as wingers when in possession, Stoke did lots of running but little meaningful attacking, with them looking tired as soon as they made it over the halfway line.
Shaqiri was still buzzing around, looking as-if he could nutmeg a mermaid and twist himself out of a glass box, even managing a shot of his own, which flew over the crossbar.
However, the new signing was obviously devoid of match-fitness, and was rightfully replaced on the hour mark, with City needing willing runners to keep the score down.
Diouf's race was also run, with Marco Arnautovic thrown on for the last 20 minutes, a clever substitution which almost payed off.
The strong, quick addition to the frontline added zest and flair for the final actions, as he singlehandedly dragged Stoke back into the game.
His long-ranger was held by Myhill, who was at this point getting bombarded with abuse for time-wasting, Stoke fans not hesitant to remind him that he was doing so against nine men.
However, he, and his teammates did get the last laugh, as they held on to clinch a valuable away win.
Stoke were left frustrated after what could have been, given their promising start, but must now turn their attentions to winning their first game of the season - Arsenal away the next challenge, after the international break.