Stoke City are behind at home to West Ham United after a physical first 45 minutes at the Britannia Stadium.
© PA Photos
West Ham were nearly caught napping in the early stages as James Collins miscued a backpass to Jussi Jaaskalinen.
Stoke piled on the pressure from the following corner but Michael Kightly spurned a chance to give the home side a quick lead.
Sam Allardyce was forced to make two changes inside the first 15 minutes due to injuries.
First Peter Crouch attempted an acrobatic volley but made contact with Matthew Taylor, who had to be helped off after being knocked to the ground.
As Jack Collison came on, Joe Cole also hobbled off with a problem and was replaced by Ricardo Vaz Te.
The Hammers responded well to the early change in personnel and hit the crossbar soon after with a glancing header from Collins.
Andy Carroll failed to test Asmir Begovic with a header from close range just before the break as Stoke struggled to create chances.
West Ham finally took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Collison turned home with an assured finish.
Liam Power
