Nigel Pearson was full of praise for the way his Bristol City side responded from an "awful" first-half to pull off a dramatic turnaround in front of the travelling fans.
The Robins extended their consecutive victories in Stoke to five matches thanks to Zak Vyner's first of the season and Anis Mehmeti's first in City colours. It was a brilliant second half showing and the reaction Pearson was craving after falling behind at the break.
City were second best in the opening 45 minutes, although had the best chances through Nahki Wells and Andi Weimann, with the former firing wide from a one-on-one situation. The visitors were punished for failing to take their chances when Nick Powell pounced on some slack defending with Tyrese Campbell handed too much space on the left to get his cross away.
Pearson cut an animated figure on the touchline during the opening period, but they came out for the second half on the front foot, penning Stoke in their own half for large parts.
"First half we were awful, especially in the first 20 minutes," Pearson said in his post-match interview. "We just couldn't settle on the ball. We looked nervy, but interestingly enough, we still had the best chances of the first half even when we weren't playing relatively well.
"It felt very frustrating because we were causing ourselves a few problems, I think they were playing well and moving the ball well. They switched the play a lot.
"We could see they were trying to get down our flanks and hit diagonal balls. It felt uncomfortable and the goal we conceded was awful so we gave ourselves a lot to do but I thought the response in the second half was very good.
"We managed to settle ourselves down and players who managed to have an off day turned it around which was good. We calmed down in possession.
"It's just important for us to win a game like that. We've played this season and done alright results-wise, but we've not really been able to find a way of getting back into the game and going on to win it.
"I thought Sam Bell in the first half was very good. He created some of our best situations in terms of using his pace. We felt that was going to be an important factor today and the front four had opportunities."
City's equaliser came from Bell out on the left with his cross finding Vyner inside the area. The defender's header looped over Jack Bonham and into the side of the net in the 72nd minute.
Five minutes before full-time, Weimann slipped in Wells who in turn freed Mehmeti inside the area. The January deadline day signing finished beyond Bonham to spark bedlam in the away end.
Pearson believes Mehmeti's first goal will relieve plenty of stress on his own shoulders. He added: "I think not starting today helped him, I don't mean that trying to be clever.
"He's been putting himself under a lot of pressure too because I don't need to be critical of him because he's so critical of himself. He's one of those players who is impatient for success and wants to do well for the team.
"He's a very likable lad and is very ambitious so to come off the bench and have that type of chance to score his first goal, is one which has taken a lot of stress away from him because he was punishing himself. He is one for now and the future."
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