Dale Eve and his Stoke City teammates began their Barclays U21 Premier League season with a draw away at neighbors Aston Villa.
Stoke battled well in a 1-1 draw as the hosts dominated for large periods at the Villans' Bodymoor Heath Training Ground.
Oliver Shenton opened the scoring within the first five minutes before his effort was cancelled out by Michael Drennan midway in the first half as Stoke City recorded their first points of the new under-21 season.
Development Squad head coach Glyn Hodges named a strong side with first team players Charlie Adam, Brek Shea and Ryan Shotton all starting for Stoke City while Villa handed starts to Joe Cole and Jores Okore.
The hosts started brightly and created the first opportunity inside the first two minutes as Jack Grealish, who played against the City's first team on Saturday, burst into the area before delivering a low ball from the right which failed to find the lurking Drennan at the far post.
Stoke immediately reacted from Villa's early pressure in fine fashion and took the lead in the 4th minute through 16-year-old Shenton whose deflected effort from the edge of the penalty area was enough to beat goalkeeper Craig Hill.
Villa remained upbeat despite going a goal behind and the impressive Grealish was at the center of attention once again.
Aston Villa’s continued surge on the Stoke goal almost paid off when Joe Cole tucked a neat ball into the path of the overlapping Callum Robinson on the right side, whose drive across goal was met by Drennan, but his first time effort was brilliantly saved by Eve on his goal line.
Australian midfielder Chris Herd was strong in the middle of the park and his superb ball found Robinson bursting into the area, but the Villa man's goal bound effort was deflected over Eve's goal.
City looked as though they would catch Villa on the counter attack as Adam picked up the ball in his own half. The Scot opted for a speculative attempt to lob Hill from the half-way line, rather than play in an unmarked Robbie Parry bursting down the right wing.
Stoke almost doubled their lead just minutes later after great closing down from Brek Shea.
The American intercepted Lewis Kinsella deep in the Villa half, and his cross was almost turned in by defender Tom Legget, who thankfully for the Villa man his sliced clearance fall into Hill's hands.
The hosts then got the goal they deserved through Robinson on 36 minutes and Grealish was involved once more.
The midfielder held the ball up well under pressure on the edge of the area and spotted Drennan in space on the right wing. His low cross found Robinson bursting towards the front post and his neat flick flew past Eve into the Stoke City goal.
Stoke ended the half in bright fashion and Joel Taylor would have been disappointed not to have tested Hill in the Villa goal.
Parry tricked his way into the final third and found Adam, whose neat ball with the outside of his boot found Taylor who blazed his first time effort well over.
Villa started the second half as they did the first with pressure on the Potters goal. Eve was alert under pressure to punch away a fizzing ball into his goal mouth by Cole.
Eve was then called into action moments later as he pulled off a sensational double save.
Villa mounted an attack on City's goal and Robinson's volley was brilliantly saved by the diving Eve, and the winger reacted quickest to the rebound, but was thwarted by an outstanding point blank block from the Stoke goalkeeper who prevented the hosts taking the lead.
Villa looked to have bagged the winner with the final chance of the game deep into stoppage time when Drennan found space at the front post and fired past Eve, but his goal was denied by the assistant referee who waved his flag for offside.
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