Ricardo Fuller and Matthew Etherington returned to the starting line up, with Andy Wilkinson and James Beattie both missing out through illness and injury respectively.
Fuller was the early thorn in the Trotters side as he jinked his way into the box in the first minute before teeing up Etherington. The former Tottenham winger struck his shot well but saw it blocked on the line by Ricketts.
Jamaican Fuller continued his mission shortly after and with another mazy run taking him into the box, he was brought down by the outstretched leg of McCann. However the ref thought he had dived and booked the striker, much to his amazement and McCann's relief.
The City fans were aggravated by the repeated diving and dirty tactics employed by Kevin Davies, and it took the ref half-a-dozen dives and an elbow to Abdoulaye Faye's face before he finally got his cards out and booked the goal shy striker.
Delap twice went close for the Potters in the opening half hour whilst Taylor and Steinsson made sure Sorenson was awake and paying attention without testing the big Dane too much.
Irish international Glenn Whelan went close on 33 minutes when he whipped a 25-yard free kick low and hard around the wall. It looked destined for the back of the net but Jaaskelainen flung himself to his left and tipped it round the post.
The first half was all Stoke and the home fans reacted by booing off their team as they went in for the half time interval, hardly a great gesture for a team in an early season battle to move away from the bottom of the league.
Bolton stopper Jaaskelainan must have felt he was playing City in his own at the start of the second half as, after twice denying the Potters by claiming crosses as City had players queueing up to nod into the net he was then beaten when Kitson collected Fuller's flick on, tricked his way past Ricketts as if he wasn't there and slid the ball into the far corner of the net.
Bolton woke up, well sort of, after conceding that 53rd minute goal and whilst tehy huffed and puffed they rarely looked like scoring past Thomas Sorenson. Well they had one big chance, as Zat Knight spun unmarked 6 yards out but blazed his effort well over the bar.
City were still looking more dangerous right up to the last moments before an attack by the hosts saw Danny Collins, after pushing Ricketts away from goal, crazily fly in at the full back and give away a penalty that he really didn't need to.
Matt Taylor stepped up and sent Sorenson the wrong way to become the first player to score past the Danish keeper since David N'Gog at Liverpool in the middle of August
Stoke(4-4-2); Sorenson; Huth, A.D.Faye, Shawcross, Collins, Delap, Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington(Lawrence 61); Kitson(Pugh 78), Fuller(Beattie 90)