Jaden Philogene-Bidace and Louie Barry got the goals as Aston Villa recorded a dominant victory at Stoke City in Premier League 2.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men inside the first 10 minutes, with goalkeeper Nathan Broome receiving his marching orders for deliberate handball outside the box.
Philogene-Bidace opened the scoring with a delightful first-half curler, before Barry sealed all three points with 12 minutes remaining.
Barry looked lively from the off and he was involved in the first major flashpoint of the game.
He connected to a ball in behind and had only Broome to beat, but the Stoke 'keeper went to ground and handled the ball outside his penalty area, leaving the referee with no option but to issue a red card.
From that moment, Villa were in total control of the game and had 77% possession in the first half.
Patience was key and Sebastian Revan, Carney Chukwuemeka and Philogene-Bidace put together a series of slick spells in possession on the left-hand side.
It led to the opener on 28 minutes as Philogene-Bidace received the ball, cut inside and curled his shot into the far bottom corner, beyond substitute goalkeeper Robbie Hemfrey.
Villa continued to dominate but had to be alert for rare Stoke counter-attacks, with Thibaud Verlinden firing just wide moments before half-time.
The game followed a similar pattern after the break with clear-cut chances hard to come by, as a Stoke side including Ryan Shawcross continued to defend very deep.
Philogene-Bidace was continuing to enjoy himself on the left and Stoke were intent on fouling the winger at every opportunity, with one late challenge inside the box surprisingly going unpunished as the visitors applied the pressure.
They got the second goal that the performance deserved as the game moved towards the final 10 minutes, with Barry making the difference once again with his pace.
Like in the first half, he beat the goalkeeper to the ball but this time, he went around Hemfrey and had the simple task of firing into an empty net.
Tom Heaton enjoyed a quiet night as his return to full fitness continued, and he and his teammates made the trip back to Birmingham with three points and a clean sheet in the bag.
Stoke City: Broome; Coates (Hemfrey, 11'), Shawcross, Forrester (C), Macari; Porter, Lindsay, Sparrow; Varian, Norton, Verlinden.
Substitutes not used: Taylor, Sy, James-Taylor, Malbon.
Aston Villa: Heaton; Kesler, D. Revan (C), Bridge, S. Revan (Rowe, 70'); A. Ramsey (Sohna, 82'), Bogarde, Chukwuemeka; Wright (Farr, 87'), Barry, Philogene-Bidace.
Substitutes not used: Onodi, Appiah.
