Stoke 2 - West Ham 2: WEST HAM'S winning run came to an end - but only after they battled to a point at Stoke.

The Potters had been well in control and deservedly led 2-0
thanks to goals from Victor Moses and Mame Biram Diouf.
But Stoke boss Mark Hughes was denied the perfect birthday
present as Enner Valencia reduced the deficit on the hour mark
before Stewart Downing equalised with 17 minutes of normal
time remaining.
The result leaves Hughes' side 12th in the Premier League table,
while West Ham have dropped a place to fifth.
Stoke had won their previous two home top-flight matches but
they went in to this one looking to bounce back from
consecutive defeats in league and cup to Southampton.
In West Ham they were facing another side, like the Saints,
exceeding expectations this term and in fine form, Sam
Allardyce's men arriving on a three-game winning streak and
and having taken victories in four of their last five.
Forward Diafra Sakho, scorer of a goal in each of their last seven
fixtures, had been key to those recent exploits but a shoulder
injury meant he failed to make the squad here.
And in his absence, West Ham were on the ropes in the opening
stages as Stoke - missing an important frontman themselves in
the suspended Peter Crouch - started at a high tempo.
Bojan Krkic, retained from the cup tie for his first league start
since September 13, had a shot blocked by Winston Reid early
on and after Moses had lashed over the bar from distance, the
lively Spaniard tried another effort, with James Collins getting in
the way.
Bojan then drilled a dangerous delivery across the face of goal,
with Diouf just unable to apply a finishing touch.
West Ham lost Reid to injury in the 24th minute, James Tomkins
coming on in his place, before carving out their first really
decent goalscoring opportunity as Downing played a neat one-
two with Alex Song, only to blast off-target.
Stoke were soon applying pressure again and just after the half-
hour mark they broke the deadlock as Bojan's shot struck
Collins and Moses scrambled the loose ball over the line.
It was a moment to savour for the winger, recently at the centre
of controversy when he was branded a diving "cheat" by
Swansea boss Garry Monk, as he notched his first goal since
joining the Potters on loan from Chelsea over the summer.
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