Bournemouth defender Eddie Howe scored the only goal of the game as First Division West Brom crashed out of the FA Cup in front of a full house at Dean Court.

Almost 11,000 fans crammed into Bournemouth's tiny ground to see Mel Machin's side give a footballing lesson to opposition from a division above.

Denis Smith's outfit were under pressure from the start and always looked second best against the neat passing and extraordinary movement provided by the Cherries.

Howe, an England Under-21 international, was on target after 34 minutes when a rare error from Phil Whitehead conceded a free-kick on the right hand side of his penalty area.

Whitehead had rushed out of his box to clumsily bring down Steve Fletcher and earned a booking from referee William Jordan for his trouble.

From the free-kick which followed Neil Young swung in a perfect centre which Fletcher thundered towards goal with a powerful header.

Whitehead made a brilliant save but as the ball looped into the air, Howe smashed in a volley to claim only his second goal for Bournemouth.

Whitehead needed to be at his best to keep out an effort from Christer Warren after 38 minutes and Steve Robinson should have scored when put clean through by Fletcher.

Former Chelsea star Mark Stein also had a shot saved by the ex-Oxford player as Bournemouth's Mark Ovendale was rarely troubled in the first half.

After the break West Brom stepped up a gear but could find no way past Ovendale who was solid on crosses and dependable throughout.

Lee Hughes was unable to add to his tally of 26 goals so far this season, his best effort coming in the 68th minute when he shot wide from a narrow angle from just outside the box.

Smith sent on Dutch striker Fabian De Freitas in place of James Quinn for the last quarter of an hour but he was unable to make a difference as Bournemouth showed their ability to keep their nerve.

The hard-working Stein was replaced late on by Roger Boli but the former Walsall striker was not needed as the Cherries eased to their seventh successive victory in league and cup football.

Teams:

Bournemouth: Ovendale, Young, Vincent, Howe, O'Neill, Bailey, Warren, Robinson, Stein (Boli 77), Fletcher, Hughes.

Subs Not Used: Colgan, Rawlinson, Rodrigues, Griffin.

Goals: Howe 34.

West Brom: Whitehead, Holmes, Potter, Bortolazzi (Angel 56), Murphy, Carbon, Maresca (De Freitas 75), Sneekes, Quinn (Flynn 75), Hughes, Kilbane.

Subs Not Used: Mardon, Miller.

Booked: Carbon, Whitehead.

Att: 10,881

Ref: B Jordan (Tring).