Everton's run of five successive victories came to end when a defiant Stoke City stole a point from a physical battle at Goodison Park.

The Toffees may have been feeling the effects of their long haul to Belarus on Thursday, but they were nowhere near their usual combative self. Stoke took the lead five minutes after the break when Robert Huth headed home his first goal for his new club, but stand-in captain Leon Osman lashed home a fine equaliser five minutes later.

Everton made three changes to the side that won the Europa League match against BATE Borisov, with Jo, Dan Gosling and Ayegbeni Yakubu reverting to the bench to allow John Heitinga - cup-tied in Europe - top scorer Louis Saha and Jack Rodwell into the starting line-up.

Stoke also made three changes from the side beaten at home to Manchester United last time out, with Glenn Whelan, Liam Lawrence and Dave Kitson replaced by James Beattie, Ricardo Fuller and Salif Diao. Tony Hibbert reverted to right-back, having done exceptionally well as an emergency centre-back in Belarus, with Heitinga partnering Sylvain Distin.

Stoke were intent on attack, fielding former Everton striker Beattie with Fuller while Matthew Etherington took on Hibbert at every opportunity. The winger's first cross led to Beattie outjumping Leighton Baines before planting a firm header into Tim Howard's arms.

The long ball into the box was the main weapon of both sides, and Everton's response was a couple of efforts blocked from Saha and Tim Cahill, before the Australian should have netted after 15 minutes. Marouane Fellaini swung in a cross from the left, and Cahill ducked low for a header just six yards out, but Thomas Sorensen managed to clutch the effort at the second attempt.

Howard, faced with a similar downward header a minute later at the other end from Fuller, also struggled to hold the effort cleanly. Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov came more into the game on the left as the half wore on, and when he cut inside to fire in a rising shot, the ball struck Ryan Shawcross. Referee Andre Marriner turned down the penalty appeals, the Stoke central defender having not moved his arms from his side.

Fuller was booked for a 35th-minute tackle on Heitinga, and Rory Delap was lucky not to follow his colleague into the book when he tripped Baines in full flow. Diao was next to be booked in an increasingly niggly game, for a foul on Baines. Heitinga lifted the resulting free-kick wide.

First for Huth
Stoke started the second period even more belligerently than the first, hounding Everton in possession. And the Potters were ahead when Etherington's right-wing corner curled into the box and defender Huth soared above Cahill to power home his first goal since his £6m summer move from Middlesbrough.

The lead lasted five minutes. Heitinga came forward from the back and exchanged passes with Osman, who struck a fierce drive from the edge of the box that crashed into the net off the underside of the bar. Bilyaletdinov had his shot saved by Sorensen, while Fuller failed to trouble Howard with a low drive at the other end.

With 15 minutes, left Everton sent on strikers Jo and Yakubu for midfielders Osman and Bilyaletdinov, with Hibbert taking the captain's armband. Stoke responded by replacing Diao with Whelan. It was a bold ploy by Everton, but one which could have involved them getting caught on the break. But even after that change, they did not make a serious opportunity.

Fellaini and Shawcross were booked with four minutes left for a clash in the centre circle, before Stoke sent on Kitson for Fuller during injury-time. The visitors were powering forward at the end looking for a winner, but neither side deserved to win a scrappy game.

Tired Toffees
It was a poor display from the hosts and Everton manager David Moyes pointed the finger at Everton's trip to Minsk to play BATE Borisov on Thursday as a reason why they failed to fire. Eight of Sunday's starting XI also featured in the 2-1 win in Belarus.

"I think seven or eight of them played on Thursday," Moyes said before insisting that it should not be allowed to become an excuse. "But that is going to happen if we want to be successful. I think more importantly we have lost a little bit of flair."

Despite creating precious few opportunities, the Everton manager was satisfied with his side's persistence against a side keen to do little but neutralise their threat. "We kept knocking on the door and kept trying to go forward," Moyes added.

"It certainly was not for lack of effort or commitment and I think at times we played as well as we have done all season. I didn't expect Stoke to come here and make it easy and it was tough to try and break them down but they have done that at a few clubs away from home. I thought we created good opportunities in good areas and though we did what we could with finishing it off."

Stoke regularly got all their men behind the ball on Sunday. It was in stark contrast to last season when they lost 3-1 at the same venue and indicates that although they will never be one of the Premier League's more entertaining sides, they are becoming increasingly difficult to beat.

"I thought we did well," Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. "I think Everton are a good team and mix it up very well and they test you as well. It was a much better performance than it was last week against Manchester United. The players were more committed and we defended very well when we had to."