Goals in each half by James Beattie and Ricardo Fuller struck down Bolton at the Britannia Stadium as the club fell to their first defeat in three outings.

The scoreline was a harsh reflection on the balance of play as Wanderers proved more than a match territorially for their hosts, but succumbed to two moments of instinctive finishing.

The game lived up to the pre-match predictions as a typical blood-and-thunder English match, with the windy, snowy conditions helping to play their part.

'If it isn't broke then don't fix it' was manager Gary Megson's message to his team ahead of the game as he named an unchanged matchday squad to that from the weekend victory over Newcastle United. Again Ricardo Gardner had to settle for a spot on the bench despite his match-winning heroics only days earlier.

As expected, Stoke, buoyed by their late fight-back on Sunday, came flying out of the blocks and instantly took the game to Bolton. Wanderers defence dealt with a couple of early long throws by Rory Delap and indeed had the first real clear cut chance to take the lead.

Matt Taylor and Kevin Davies combined excellently down the left, and when Bolton's number seven whipped in one his trademark left-footed crosses, Johan Elmander stuck out a foot only for Sorensen to save excellently, diving to his right.

But as it was, Stoke City took the lead with only 14 minutes on the clock. Andy O'Brien's defensive header landed straight at Glenn Whelan 40 yards from goal and the Potters' hero at Villa Park proceeded to nod the ball straight through the middle of Wanderers' defence and into the path of James Beattie. The January signing took his time before firing past Jaaskelainen from just eight yards out.

Wanderers looked to get back into the game and carved out a number of half-chances. Johan Elmander, seeking his first goal since December, blazed a 25-yard volley over the crossbar and Matt Taylor troubled Sorensen with a stinging volley from just inside the penalty box.

Stoke continued to pepper Jaaskelainen's goal with set-pieces and long throws and they too could have extended their lead when Ryan Shawcross leapt above Gary Cahill to head a Liam Lawrence corner over the crossbar.

The closest that Bolton came to levelling was when Matt Taylor managed to bend a free-kick from outside the box up and over a Stoke City wall, only to find Thomas Sorensen in superb form as he dove low to his left to push the ball around the post.

Half-time was met with a short blizzard as the frosty conditions hit the Potteries, but it was Bolton started the hottest after the interval, applying pressure right from Mike Dean's first whistle.

Gretar Steinsson tested Sorensen from a tight angle and Kevin Davies lashed one wide from distance with only a few minutes played following the resumption.

But still, Tony Pulis' men pressed forward in a bid to extend their lead. Andy Wilkinson marauded up-field from right-back and struck a daisy cutter that clipped Gary Cahill's legs and flew only inches wide with just over an hour played.

Both Ricardos - Gardner and Fuller - were introduced by the two teams' respective managers, but it proved to be the Stoke City substitute which had the greater impact as Fuller pounced to effectively seal the victory for the hosts with 73 minutes on the clock.

Rory Delap's long throw was only half cleared to Glenn Whelan, who struck a thunderbolt from distance which was saved excellently by Jussi Jaaskelainen. The rebound landed inside a packed penalty to area where Fuller proved the quickest to react, firing into the roof of the net from ten yards out.

Five minutes later and it could have been 3-0 when central defender Ibrahima Sonko towered high to crash a header against the crossbar, while Jaaskelainen raced off his line to produce an excellent sprawling save to thwart Liam Lawrence after the former Sunderland man had been unselfishly teed-up by James Beattie.

Up the other end and Sorensen was proving unbeatable as he firstly clutched onto a Kevin Davies header and then made arguably the save of the game to deny Johan Elmander deep into stoppage time following the Swede's scorching left-foot volley.

In the end it was the former Denmark international who proved to be the difference as Stoke City gained revenge for their 3-1 opening day defeat at the Reebok Stadium back in August.