In-form Coca-Cola Championship side Stoke scored twice in the last eight minutes as they edged past Millwall and into the FA Cup fourth round.

The Potters looked set to rue a series of missed chances until an unfortunate Marvin Elliott 82nd-minute own-goal and Ricardo Fuller's strike three minutes from time sent the 2004 finalists crashing out of the competition.

John Eustace and Mamady Sidibe created and spurned gilt-edged chances for the hosts before Elliott bundled David Brammer's cross-shot into his own net before Fuller finished well to make the result safe.

The Jamaica international jinked past two Millwall defenders before coolly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley to take his tally for the season to seven in all competitions.

Both managers opted to field attack-minded sides and that made for a lively opening 10 minutes in front of a sparse crowd at the Britannia Stadium.

Former Millwall winger Peter Sweeney, handed a rare start by Stoke boss Tony Pulis, was especially keen to impress in the early stages and curled an 18-yard effort just over as City battled to seize the initiative.

The Lions may have been without a host of influential players but they were desperate for some respite from domestic matters after being dragged into a relegation battle in League One.

They nearly went ahead when a high ball fell to Elliott 25 yards out and his looping volley was parried over the crossbar by Stoke goalkeeper Steve Simonsen.

Millwall, buoyed by back-to-back 4-1 wins over Gillingham and Brentford, continued to grow in stature and Marvin Williams headed the impressive Danny Senda's teasing cross wide.

Vincent Pericard fired a tame volley wide shortly after as the game approached the half-hour mark, before Danny Higginbotham found himself in the right place at the right time to block Poul Hubertz's goalward punt.

Pericard continued to pose a threat with his pace and forced Pidgeley into action for the first time eight minutes before half time, creating space before shooting poorly.

The hosts then created and spurned the best chance of the game as Carl Hoefkens floated in a right-wing free-kick which Senda could only clear into the path of Eustace.

The former Coventry midfielder collided with a team-mate before his looping header clipped the top of crossbar and bounced behind for a goal kick.

At the interval, Pulis introduced Fuller to form a three-man strikeforce with Pericard and Sidibe and the latter nearly broke the deadlock moments after the restart.

The Mali international showed great initiative to seize on a wayward backpass but could only head straight at the advancing Pidgeley from 10 yards and he flashed the rebound just wide with the goal at his mercy.

Despite dominating possession, Stoke clearly missed the industry and quality of Lee Hendrie, who returned to Aston Villa earlier this week after a successful loan spell in the Potteries, and were fortunate to take the lead when the opening goal eventually came after 82 minutes.

Higginbotham's high corner eluded everyone and Brammer steered the ball goalward before Elliott hacked the ball into his own net with an attempted clearance.

Fuller made sure of a safe passage to the next round five minutes later when the Millwall defence failed to stop his surging run and he beat Pidgeley with a neat finish.