Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has praised his side's performance despite their 2-1 defeat to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium this afternoon.

Villa were undone by second-half strikes from Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch, with Libor Kozak notching Villa's only goal of the game in the 66th minute.

"I thought we were excellent in the first half. The wind was very strong but even in the second half we had chances. It was a very close game," Lambert told reporters after the match.

"We thought when we got it 1-1 that we might have gone on. We will go again. I don't think we deserved to lose."

Villa find themselves in 13th position in the Premier League table.