West Brom's new boss Denis Smith guided his team to victory at the fourth
attempt as the Baggies secured their first win over Stoke in 19 meetings.
Stoke boss Chic Bates had called for "big reaction" from his players after
the Potter's desperate 7-0 home defeat by Birmingham on Saturday.
But what confidence Stoke still possessed was shattered in the third round FA
Cup tie by two long-range efforts from Dutch midfielder Richard Sneekes which
turned the game in the first half.
Despite a late fightback which produced a goal from Marco Gabbiadini, West
Brom secured a fourth round tie at either Portsmouth or local rivals Aston Villa
with a killer goal from Kevin Kilbane 12 minutes from the end.
After events on Saturday, Stoke keeper Carl Muggleton must have been a
relieved man as 27 minutes went by with little to concern him.
But then a West Brom attack was brought to a sudden halt when Stoke defender
Steven Tweed upended Michael Evans on the edge of the 'D'.
After Tweed had been booked, Kilbane tapped the ball and it was met with a
thunderous 20-yard strike from Sneekes which went through the wall and past
Muggleton.
Stoke nearly replied immediately but striker Paul Stewart's header from a
Kevin Keen corner was cleared off the line by Albion defender Shane Nicholson
with keeper Alan Miller stranded.
To emphasise Stoke's poor fortune, West Brom extended the lead after 32
minutes when Sneekes hit an opportunist shot from 25 yards which kept low but
had the power to beat Muggleton.
Eight minutes after the break Stewart put the ball into the West Brom net from
an Andy Griffin cross but despite no complaints from the home side the goal was
ruled out for offside.
But after 61 minutes Stoke got their reward when Gabbiadini picked up a loose
ball in the box and shot past Miller.
It had been more than nine years since West Brom last beat Stoke but they
ensured the hoodoo was broken when Kilbane headed home in the 78th minute.
Bates will be left to consider his future but will have the sympathy of West
Brom boss Smith who spent more than 18 years as a Stoke player.
Teams:
West Brom: Miller, Holmes, Nicholson, Sneekes, Murphy, Dobson,
Evans (Butler 61), Hamilton, Hughes, Hunt, Kilbane.
Subs Not Used: Crichton, Burgess, Flynn, Quailey.
Goals: Sneekes 28, 32, Kilbane 78.
Stoke: Muggleton, Pickering, Griffin, Sigurdsson,
Tweed (Thorne 60), Keen, Forsyth, Wallace, Gabbiadini, Stewart,
Whittle.
Subs Not Used: MacKenzie, Morgan, McMahon, Nyamah.
Booked: Sigurdsson, Tweed, Whittle, Forsyth.
Goals: Gabbiadini 61.
Att: 17,598
Ref: T Jones (Barrow-in-Furness).
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