Blues were left thinking what might have been after a goalless draw in the midday game at The Britannia Stadium.

The point was enough to put Blues top of the table albeit possibly temporarily.

After a dour first half, things livened up in the second half and Mikael Forssell squandered the chance to take all three points when his missed from the penalty spot.

Keeper Simonsen did his homework guessing the Finn would pick the same spot as Wednesday night and was equal to the task.

Arguably Stoke were the better side over 90 minutes but Blues maintained their unbeaten start to the season.

Steve Bruce kept faith with the same XI that won at Sunderland midweek.

Thankfully Nicklas Bendtner recovered from an injured ankle and was fit to partner fellow Scandinavian Mikael Forssell.

One disappointment was that DJ Campbell was still ruled out through injury and unable to play any part today.

Olivier Tebily gifted Stoke a simple chance on three minutes when he pulled back Mamady Sidibe right on the edge of the penalty area.

Peter Sweeney blasted the free-kick straight towards the wall but it was Stoke's Michael Duberry that split the wall but still managed to block his shot.

Two minutes later some neat footwork by Forssell took the Finn towards goal before being bundled over by Clint Hill.

Sebastian Larsson stepped up to curl the free-kick over the wall and a yard over the bar. Stoke continued to match the visitors and went close again when Luke Chadwick's cross found Peter Sweeney whose header was a fraction over landing on top of the net.

The game was turning into a midfield battle now with neither side taking command.

When Stoke did break Olivier Tebily was halting Pericard with whatever means he could.

The first shot on target fell to Stoke when Dave Brammer latched onto a clearance 25 yards out and struck a first time shot that flew straight to Maik Taylor.

Moments later Fabrice Muamba was fortunate not be booked when he scythed down Luke Chadwick who was racing through towards the Blues defence.

Blues had a rare chance in the 33rd minute with Mikael Forssell dragging a poor shot wide from long range.

Blues were now resorting to hitting the long ball over the top but failing to get any success from this.

In the 39th minute the crowd witnessed possibly one of the strangest decisions of the game when Stephen Kelly's attempted volley felled Peter Sweeney but play on was the verdict.

Both sets of supporters were left wishing for a better second half after a pretty dour first 45 minutes.

Half-Time Stoke 0-0 Blues

Neither manager made any changes at all choosing to keep faith with their line-ups from the first half.

Five minutes into the half Clint Hill was lucky to escape a caution with a late tackle on Mikael Forssell.

Mr Beeby blew too early with Blues looking to continue their attack. First chance of the half fell to Stoke with Blues almost caught napping.

It was Peter Sweeney's cross that found Mamady Sidibe at the far post but thankfully Bruno N'Gotty was there to block the ball for a corner.

In the 58th minute Steve Bruce decided it was time for a change bringing on David Dunn for Sebastian Larsson.

Seconds later Dunn made an immediate impact by flicking the ball inside to Muamba in the penalty box who was tripped by Dave Brammer.

Mikael Forssell stepped up again to take the penalty but keeper Simonsen guessed correctly diving to his right to block his spot kick.

The ball spun away from the keeper but he managed to push it away for a corner under pressure from Forssell.

Blues were now put under a barrage of Stoke attacks with Sweeney just failing to pick out Pericard with his floated cross.

Two minutes later Pericard returned the favour for Sweeney pulling the ball back to the midfielder but he fired well wide of the target.

In the 65th minute Maik Taylor kept Blues in the game with a stunning one handed save from Sidibe who tried to beat him at the near post.

Steve Bruce made a second change in the 68th minute with Neil Danns replacing Fabrice Muamba.

Danns was straight into the action beating his man and forcing Simonsen to mis-punch the ball to Russell.

Nicklas Bendtner almost pounced on Russell's poor control but Russell recovered to hook the ball clear. In the 75th minute Clint Hill was the first man in the book for a blatant foul on Mikael Forssell who was looking to thread the ball through to Bendtner.

Luke Chadwick was next in the book for a second successive foul the latter being on David Dunn who took exception to the challenge.

The free-kick found Stephen Kelly totally unmarked at the far post but his header was poor and hit the side-netting.

David Dunn got some retribution on Luke Chadwick catching the Stoke man late and leaving him requiring treatment without conceding a free-kick.

In the 84th minute Stephen Clemence replaced Mikael Forssell. In the 88th minute Olivier Tebily was booked for mocking the referee after fouling Russell.

Peter Sweeney curled the free-kick towards the top corner where Maik Taylor pulled out another top drawer save to keep the score level.

Deep into injury time local lad Martin Patterson replaced Luke Chadwick.

Steve Bruce could well think himself the luckier manager after claiming an important away point but Blues fans will still be looking for more from their new look side.

The fans travelling back down the M6 look forward to the next clash against rivals Crystal Palace.

Full time : Stoke 0 Blues 0

Blues
Maik Taylor, Stephen Kelly, Matthew Sadler, Bruno N'Gotty, Olivier Tebily, Damien Johnson, Fabrice Muamba (68, Danns), Mehdi Nafti, Sebastian Larsson (58, Dunn), Mikael Forssell (84,Clemence), Nicklas Bendtner

Bookings
Tebily (88)

Stoke City
Steve Simonsen, Carl Hoefkens, Carl Dickinson, Michael Duberry, Clint Hill, Luke Chadwick (90, Patterson), Dave Brammer, Peter Sweeney, Russell, Vincent Pericard, Mamady Sidibe

Bookings
Hill (75), Chadwick (78).

Report by Jon Shaw