STOKE CITY'S young reserve side put up a brave show only to finish up losing 3-0 in their Barclays Premier Reserve League match at Chelsea.
The Potters, forced to field a youthful line-up due to first team calls for the match at Burnley, found themselves up against a strong Chelsea side.
And it was England Under-21 star Daniel Sturridge who grabbed a brace on the night, while Gael Kakuta added the third for the home team.
Sturridge had already forced a fine save out of Dave Parton when he broke the deadlock in the 25th minute as he punished the City defence for failing to clear the ball.
Jacob Mellis looped the ball onto the crossbar after latching onto a Kakuta cross, but the attempted clearance fell to Sturridge who fired home from close range.
City's best chance fell to striker Warwick Alexander who should have done better from eight yards out when he was picked out by Ryan Connor's free kick.
They were made to pay for that miss when Kakuta started and finished a move minutes later in which the Frenchman released Sturridge on a burst forward.
When Parton managed to palm out Sturridge's eventual shot, Kakuta was on hand to tuck the ball home with a low shot into the corner after a neat first touch.
Chelsea had a third goal ruled out for offside early in the second half when Fabio Borini fired home, but the third goal wasn't long in coming for the home side.
Sturridge met a cross from Patrick van Aanholt with a crisp half volley but he fired wide on two occasions in the closing stages as he chased a hat-trick.
CHELSEA (4-4-2):Rhys Taylor, Jeffrey Bruma, Carl Magnay, Danny Mills Pappoe, Patrick van Aanholt, Liam Bridcutt, Jacob Mellis, Nemanja Matic, Gael Kakuta, Daniel Sturridge, Fabio Barini. Subs: Jan Sebek, Jacopo Sala, Conor Clifford, Nana Ofori-Twumasi, Marko Mitrivic.
CITY (4-4-2): Dave Parton; Craig Sinclair, Ryan Connor, Matt Cohen, Alex Hedley; Tom Urwin, Rodney McDonald, Nathaniel Wedderburn, Danny Stockhall; Cameron Mitchell, Warwick Alexander. Subs: Zack Foster, Nicky Jackson, Jack Harrison.
