The visitors led at the break courtesy of Marouane Chamakh's first goal for the Eagles, but Stoke were by far the better team in the second period.

The Potters hit back through Charlie Adam just before the hour mark and Ryan Shawcross made amends for an earlier error by guiding home a winner.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action.

Match statistics:

Stoke:
Shots 14
On target 5
Possession 50%
Corners 7
Fouls 13

Arsenal:
Shots 14
On target 5
Possession 50%
Corners 0
Fouls 6

Was the result fair?

Yes. Palace may have edged the fist half in terms of attacking possession, but Stoke were by far the better side after the break. The Potters played with much more intent in the second half, while the visitors defended poorly.

Stoke's performance

Hughes's side were slow starters this afternoon. They looked disorganised at the back in the first period and gifted the lead to Palace due to a lack of concentration. However, Hughes's half-time teamtalk appeared to do the trick as they were nothing short of transformed after the break.

Palace's performance

The Eagles looked like a threat in the first period, with Chamakh and Dwight Gayle proving a handful for the Stoke defence. They deserved their half-time lead, but the end result was a fair reflection because Palace defended like a Championship side in the second half.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Ryan Shawcross: Perhaps this is a controversial choice given that Shawcross was at fault for Palace's goal, but it takes tremendous character to pick yourself up and make amends for a mistake - and that's exactly what the defender did when he produced a striker's finish to net the winner.

Biggest gaffe

We could hand this award to Shawcross for his blunder that allowed Chamakh in on goal, but that doesn't seem right considering he turned things around. Instead, we will have to go with Palace's calamitous defending in the second period. This is something manager Ian Holloway will have to address very quickly if Palace are to stand any chance of competing at this level.

Referee performance

Andre Marriner kept the game under control well for the most part, but there was one significant decision he got wrong. Joel Ward was brought down in the box by Matthew Etherington in the first half and should have been awarded a penalty. The outcome of the game may have been radically different had this call been made correctly.

What next?

Stoke: The Potters will be looking to build on this victory by progressing to the next round of the Capital One Cup. They face Walsall in that competition next weekend.

Palace: Palace are in action in the same competition next weekend, with League One's Bristol City serving as their opponents.