Millwall held off a strong second-half push from Stoke to secure a 1-0 win and their first home points of the season.
Gary Rowett, who had taken stick from his own supporters in defeat at Norwich last weekend, saw his side control the first half at the Den and deservedly go in with a lead courtesy of a strike from summer signing Kevin Nisbet.
Stoke came into the game after a quadruple substitution at half-time as Andre Vidigal went close with a one-on-one and forced a fine save from Matija Sarkic, while Tyrese Campbell hit a post and Wouter Burger had a late drive fizz wide.
But it was Millwall who hung on and Rowett continues his hold over his old side, having won six out of nine encounters since leaving the Potters in 2019.
Millwall had taken hold of a scrappy match midway through the first half and Mark Travers made a series of saves.
The goalkeeper had to be down smartly to keep out a low, whipped free-kick from wide on the left by Zian Flemming. George Saville thought he had scored with the rebound only for Ben Wilmot to flash across to deflect wide with a header.
Stoke fans were still singing Travers’ name when he shifted across to keep out another Flemming free-kick and then acrobatically got his fingertips to stop a close-range header from Jake Cooper.
Millwall found the breakthrough when Stoke failed to deal with a loopy long throw from the right, bouncing kindly for Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.
Stoke manager Alex Neil handed debuts to new signings Mehdri Leris and Burger in a major half-time reshuffle.
The visitors did come to life and, after Campbell had their first shot on target, Wesley pushed a through-ball to Vidigal to clip a shot just past Sarkic and the post. Campbell cracked a shot just over the crossbar from the right corner of the area.
Stoke dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened and Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Leris shot just over in a scramble.
Flemming had half a chance to seal the win, but his shot was blocked by Luke McNally and Sarkic was forced into a flying stoppage-time save to keep the score at 1-0, diving to his left to tip over a dipping 30-yard drive from Vidigal.
Travers joined the Stoke attack for a couple of late corners, seeing Campbell flick a header onto the far post before Burger flashed onto a loose ball in the dying moments and skidded a shot past the left post.
Southgate: Man United speculation 'a complete irrelevance'
Gareth Southgate says speculation linking him with the Manchester United job is "a complete irrelevance" as his entire focus is on England's Euro 2024 campaign.
The England manager has been tipped as a contender to succeed Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford should United part ways with the Dutchman at the end of the season.
Southgate is due to be out of contract later this year, with suggestions that the upcoming European Championship finals will be his last tournament as Three Lions chief.
However, amid the talk over where he could end up later this year, the 53-year-old is not looking beyond the Euros.
"I've got one thing to focus on, and that's having as successful a tournament with England as possible," he told ITV News.
"Everything else outside of that is a complete irrelevance to me."
Asked specifically about the United links in a separate interview with BBC Sport, Southgate said: "There will always be speculation about managers.
"If you lose a couple of games, you're in trouble - you win a couple of games and it is a different agenda.
"But for me, [Euro 2024] is a brilliant opportunity. We're looking forward to the tournament. My focus is on how do we go a step further than we went in the last Euros."
Southgate has been England boss since 2016 and previously hinted he contemplated stepping down after the World Cup quarter-final loss to France in December 2022.
Despite the fact his deal expires in the next six months, Southgate insists that is not a concern ahead of the Euros in Germany.
"It's not an issue and never has been," Southgate said. "I have to deliver a successful tournament for England and there's enough work involved in that.
"I think everybody would expect that's where my focus should be."
Iraola signs 12-month contract extension with Bournemouth
Andoni Iraola has committed his future to Bournemouth until 2026 by penning a one-year contract extension with the club, having enjoyed an excellent first season on the south coast.
Iraola left Rayo Vallecano to join Bournemouth after they parted company with Gary O'Neil last year, and after a difficult start to his tenure, he has overseen a tremendous campaign.
Bournemouth failed to win any of their first nine league games under Iraola before beating Burnley in late October.
Since that victory, only the current top four of Arsenal (65), Manchester City (64), Liverpool (58) and Aston Villa (48) have bettered the Cherries' tally of 45 points.
Their overall total of 48 for this campaign, meanwhile, is a new top-flight club record.
Though they were beaten 2-1 by Brentford on Saturday, they could still secure a top-half finish when they visit Chelsea for their final game on Sunday, should other results go their way.
Last week, Iraola was rewarded for his fine work with a nomination for the Premier League Manager of the Season award, alongside Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Unai Emery.
On Monday, the club confirmed he had also penned a one-year extension to the deal he agreed last June, which was set to expire at the end of 2024-25.
"I'm very happy to sign the contract. For me, it is a matter of renewing the confidence from both sides," Iraola told the club's website.
"We have had a good experience with our first season together in the Premier League, and I am happy that both sides want to continue the relationship further."
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
