Stoke City 1-2 Birmingham City: Stansfield & Bacuna earn Mowbray first league win
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Jay Stansfield's first-half goal was his eighth in the league this season
Jay Stansfield's strike and a stunning Juninho Bacuna free-kick earned Tony Mowbray his second victory in a three-match unbeaten start as Birmingham City manager and inflicted a first defeat in six games for new Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher.
Stansfield's fine one-on-one finish came after a strong Stoke opening and the hosts continued to dominate possession and pose a considerable threat against their fellow Championship strugglers.
But although Blues keeper John Ruddy had to make a couple of fine saves, the Potters' finishing lacked precision and quality and they were made to pay soon after the restart when Bacuna found the top corner from 25 yards.
Jordan Thompson pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining, the defender tapping the ball in at the far post from Wouter Burger's assist, but persistent pressure could not preserve Stoke's unbeaten sequence and leaves Schumacher's side without a home win in seven league games.
Substitutes Tyrese Campbell and Nathan Lowe both spurned decent chances and Ryan Mmaee fired a shot over the bar, but Blues stood firm under the relentless pressure to move level on points with their opponents.
Both sides now have identical league records with eight wins and 12 defeats from their 32 league games.
However, Stoke will wonder how they failed to put some daylight between themselves and Mowbray's men having had 22 attempts on goal from more than 70% possession.
The first half showed plenty of promise for the Potters despite Fulham loanee Stansfield's eighth Championship goal of the season which arrived via a neat turn and powerful shot following a fine Koji Miyoshi pass.
Burger had a volley well saved by Ruddy, who also got his angles right to deny Mmaee, while Andre Vigidal sent a shot narrowly wide after evading two defenders.
Blues remained dangerous on the break and could easily have gone in 2-0 ahead had keeper Daniel Iversen not been alert to make an excellent stop from Siriki Dembele's fierce strike.
The pattern continued on the resumption even after Bacuna's brilliant set-piece found the top-left corner to give the visitors breathing space.
Stoke piled forward at every opportunity and created numerous openings, but Birmingham held out thanks to a combination of fine defending and some wayward finishing to ensure a first league win in seven attempts since a 1-0 victory at Cardiff City on 13 December.
Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher told BBC Radio Stoke:
"I felt for large parts of the game the performance was really good. We created loads of chances and some of the play to get to the final third was excellent - that was clear for everyone to see.
"But we didn't do enough with it. That's something we need to improve on; it's been an issue all season. We are creating chances fine but have to find a way to stick them in.
"We have to keep sticking to the plan, working on it, keep getting into the right areas. At times the final balls weren't great and some of the finishing didn't hit the target for the chances we had.
"The character was there and we looked strong and had loads of energy. Birmingham have had to defend really well. We put them under loads of pressure.
"We have been on a nice little run and built some nice momentum but today is one that got away from us."
Birmingham manager Tony Mowbray old BBC WM:
"In the first half we threatened their goal and could have broken away again and come in at 2-0. The first goal was a brilliant goal - what a finish. How clinical is Jay Stansfield when he's through like that? And Bacuna, we see that every day in training. He's mad as a hatter but he has amazing skill.
"I knew if they got one it would be difficult because their crowd would be right behind them and almost suck the ball into the net. In the second half we had to dig in and get plenty of men behind the ball. There were heroics from some players with brilliant blocks and putting their bodies on the line.
"I am so pleased for the fans who made the trip in huge numbers. It was great to listen them singing and celebrating with the players at the end. They haven't been able to do that too much this season.
"Hopefully we'll have more days like that but I've said to the players that we can't play like we did in the second half and expect to win lots of games. We need to play with the ball more, be more confident and we need to get through the lines and threaten the opposition."