Harvey Vale joined QPR from Chelsea in February
Harvey Vale's first Championship goal made it three consecutive wins for Queens Park Rangers as Stoke City's perfect away record this season came to an end.
The 22-year-old former Chelsea youngster beat excellent Potters goalkeeper Viktor Johansson with a left-footed curling shot into the far corner as both teams sought to win the game after a cagey first half.
Johansson had brilliantly denied Vale and Rumarn Burrell, while at the other end Million Manhoef headed a great chance over the bar and then Aaron Cresswell had a shot cleared off the line in added time.
The win means Rangers have bounced back from their humiliating 7-1 defeat at Coventry City with victories over Wrexham and Charlton Athletic, while Stoke suffered only their second defeat of the season after their best start to a campaign since 1998.
Stoke manager Mark Robins unsurprisingly named a team unchanged from the side which beat Birmingham City last week but, although they bossed the first half in terms of possession and territory, the home side fashioned the two best chances.
Vale failed to trouble Johansson after Lewis Baker's error had presented him a good opportunity, and Richard Kone cut in from the right to curl a shot narrowly wide of the far post in a forgettable 45 minutes.
Both sides went for the win after the break but Stoke failed to heed Robins' warning last week that they need to be more ruthless in front of goal.
Tomas Rigo slashed at an air shot from Sorba Thomas' set-up and the winger then delivered a perfect cross onto the head of Manhoef, yards out, but the Dutch forward lifted his header over the bar.
At the other end, Johansson was looking unbeatable as he parried a fierce Koki Saito drive, punched away a Vale curler and then unbelievably flung out an arm to stop Burrell from 10 yards.
Vale, whose only previous senior goals were on loan at Bristol Rovers two seasons ago, broke the deadlock when Saito hit the byline but saw his cross blocked by Baker, the ball then falling to his team-mate to calmly pick out the far corner with a precise shot.
Stoke tried to rescue a point but Lamine Cisse fired over when he should have played in Thomas, and then Cresswell saw Liam Morrison stretch out a leg to deny his goalbound shot late in added time.
'Worst this season' - Robins
Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan said:
"In the last 20 minutes I had a lot of hesitation and, to be honest, I imagined that Kaddie [Dembele] would enter the pitch for Harvey [Vale], yes. It was the plan.
"But we didn't change and in the last 15 minutes I felt the players were continuing to do well physically and to enter the pitch in these kind of games is not easy. So we chose to stay like this."
The response to the 7-1 defeat by Coventry: "In the season you have some good moments and bad moments and that was a bad moment.
"It's finished now and we learned a lot. Now we have won three in a row, that is [also] finished and we have to be focused on the next games."
Stephan: 'A great result!'
Stoke manager Mark Robins told BBC Radio Stoke:
"That's the worst we've played this season. We have to maintain a level and maintain our non-negotiables, and we just didn't.
"We got exactly what we deserved, so it's back to the drawing board. Optimism is fantastic but unless you do things right all the time, and not just when you fancy it, you are going to come unstuck.
"Feet on the ground, which isn't a bad thing, but we have got to get back on it. That's two 12:30 kick-offs now where we've lost 1-0 and not played to our potential.
"It can't become a thing because there will be a few of them."
Robins: ‘That’s the worst we’ve played this season’
Stephan: 'A great result!'
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