Aston Villa boss Dean Smith: A draw was a fair result

The hosts twice had to come from behind to deny the Potters victory at a bitterly cold and rainswept Villa Park.

Substitute Jonathan Kodjia headed their second leveller with just six minutes remaining to earn a point which moved Smith’s men to within three of the Championship top six.

And Smith said: “It’s a fair result. Out of the last seven games we should have won six.

“Today is the first time I can sit here and say we didn’t deserve to win. But neither did they. It was a very even game.”

After a first-half in which Stoke had the better chances, Joe Allen fired the visitors in front early in the second half.

Tammy Abraham levelled for Villa from the spot, after Kodjia had been fouled. But Benik Afobe’s penalty soon after looked to have sealed the points for the Potters before Kodjia headed home Yannick Bolasie’s cross.

Smith said: “Both penalty decisions were correct in my opinion. Kodjia has been fouled and Ahmed Elmohamady has allowed James McClean to get inside him. We never doubled up on him.

“Both teams will feel it’s poor defending. But the players showed enough character to come back.

“At the end of the day, the conditions levelled the game out.

“It took away our home advantage because it was like a summer’s day in Stoke!”

The result extended Villa’s unbeaten run to seven games, though they have now drawn three of their last four.

“We didn’t create enough chances today,” said Smith. But I’ve got players who will score goals, that’s one guarantee.

“It doesn’t matter who we play against - Stoke, Leeds, West Brom, we’ll score goals.

“We have to make sure we don’t give as many big chances away.

“You can’t say there were too many today.

“When Kodjia came on it changed. He’s pinned their lad and won a deserved penalty as well as scoring the equaliser.”