A late Nick Powell strike salvaged a point for Stoke City in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.

A second-half header from Harlee Dean had put the visitors ahead at the bet365 Stadium before Powell struck late on to see them record a third successive league draw.

  • Story of the match


Fletcher's free-kick denied by woodwork

A scrappy start to the first half saw limited chances for either side before Steven Fletcher looked to capitalise from a free-kick around 20 yards out on 27 minutes.

The Potters forward curled his effort over the wall and towards the top right corner, only to be denied by the corner of the crossbar.

Dean heads Blues' opener

The visitors struggled for chances at the start of the second half as Stoke looked to dominate possession but managed to get ahead against the run of play on 65 minutes.

Unmarked in the area, the Blues defender connected with Ivan Sanchez's corner and headed past Adam Davies into the top corner.

Powell's late leveller

In clear need of attacking options midway through the second half, Stoke boss Michael O'Neill turned to substitutes Powell and Tyrese Campbell to make an impact and he was rewarded with four minutes to play.

Latching onto the latter's pull back from the right, Powell shot low past  Neil Etheridge and into the bottom corner despite a late touch from the Blues goalkeeper.
 

  • Match Stats

Stoke City 1-1 Birmingham City (Dean, 65', Powell, 86')

Stoke City

Davies; Fox, Chester, Souttar, Smith, Tymon (McClean, 81'), Mikel, Clucas, Oakley-Boothe (Campbell, 71'), Gregory (Powell, 71'), Fletcher

Unused subs: Butland, Batth, Thompson, Brown

Birmingham City

Etheridge, Colin, Dean, Friend, Pedersen, Sunjic, Clayton, Sanchez, Bela (Roberts, 71'), Toral (Crowley, 62'), Jutkiewicz (Hogan, 87')

Unused subs: Prieto, Gardner, Dacres-Cogley, Boyd-Munce

  • Takeaways

Negative approach costs Stoke

It wouldn't have come as a surprise for many to see O'Neill set up in a similar fashion to that of their impressive 1-0 win at Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Although it was an effective set-up away at a Premier League side, the Stoke boss' decision to make seven changes to the same formation ultimately cost his side the victory this time out.

Blues extend unbeaten run

Aitor Karanka will certainly feel the more positive of the two managers after that.

On course for a first away win of the season, the Birmingham head coach may be slightly disappointed to concede late on, but the result does extend his side's unbeaten run to four games ahead of their game with Sheffield Wednesday next weekend.