Tom Cannon has been on target from the penalty in both the two wins since Narcis Pelach took charge in mid-September
Stoke City won for only the second time in eight Championship matches under new boss Narcis Pelach as they edged the A50 derby at home to Derby County.
The Potters led through Tom Cannon's early first-half penalty - after the on-loan home striker had himself been brought down for his second successful spot-kick in Stoke colours.
They then got rocked back by a comical own goal on 68 minutes when centre-half Ben Gibson got in a tangle with Viktor Johansson and the ball went in off the Stoke keeper.
But Gibson quickly atoned at the other end to head a controversial 82nd-minute winner, although it looked as if a blatant foul had been missed for Junior Tchamadeu's challenge on Nat Phillips.
Derby remain in the bottom half with Stoke after their poor run stretched to just one win in nine league games.
- Published28 October
- Published29 October
Stoke led when Enda Stevens' through ball found Cannon, who went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Derby's Swedish international keeper Jacob Widell Zetterström.
Leicester City loan man Cannon picked himself up off the turf to fire the spot-kick into the bottom right corner for his fifth league goal for Stoke - all five of which have come in just two games at the bet365 Stadium.
The 21-year-old scored four goals in Pelach's only other Potters win, the 6-1 victory over Portsmouth at the start of October.
On-loan Brighton midfielder Andrew Moran should have have made it 2-0 but shot wide before Cannon almost got his second just before the hour when, after being fed by Bae Jun-ho, he was denied by a combination of keeper Zetterström and Erin Cashin.
Zetterstrom then made a great save to thwart Jun-ho's header from Stevens' cross.
Tom Cannon has only scored in two league games since his arrival - of which all five goals have come at the bet365 Stadium
But then came a moment of Potters madness as Gibson and Johansson got in a complete tangle.
Under no pressure, Gibson's backward header bypassed the Stoke keeper, who looked like he still had time to get back and clear - but, in his panic, he succeeded only in hitting it into his own net.
Gibson was not finished yet though as, 14 minutes later, the big centre-half did damage at the right end.
From Jun-ho's inswinging corner, referee Josh Smith did not appear to spot Tchamadeu take out Derby's former Liverpool defender Phillips - and Gibson headed home.
Stoke's Viktor Johansson was up against fellow Sweden international keeper Jacob Widell Zetterström
Who's next?
Both sides are back in action on Wednesday, when Stoke head for Potters old boy John Eustace's Blackburn - and Derby go to Coventry.
Stoke City boss Narcis Pelach told BBC Radio Stoke:
"I was very pleased with the goal. We have worked a lot on set-plays. When I was with Huddersfield, we were the best team in the league. We scored 22 goals from set-plays by keeping it very simple but being very aggressive.
"We wanted to be more aggressive than them. We want to be this strong team that scores with wide free-kicks and set-plays.
"I am really pleased. When you watch the goal back we are nasty. We put the ball into the six-yard box and we get good contact with it. I am pleased that our captain has scored it after the mistake for their goal.
"We were the better team. We deserved to win. We scored a nice goal with some really good play which resulted in the penalty, but for me the most important thing was coming back mentally from the goal we conceded."
Derby County boss Paul Warne told BBC Radio Derby:
"I am so disappointed with the second goal. I don't expect anyone will be surprised to hear me say I think it is a foul.
"But, if you run flat out into the front zone man, to knock him out of the way and you score in the front zone, then I'm going to be disappointed.
"But I don't think we played well enough in the entirety to merit any points. At 1-1 I thought we were going to win it.
"Even the Stoke fans thought it, that we might get a goal sooner or later. We tried to make attacking substitutions, and I'm an optimist. But, if you don't play well enough, you possibly don't get anything out of the game."
