West Bromwich Albion have bounced back from their FA Cup disappointment by beating Stoke City 1-0 this afternoon.
A first-half header from Brown Ideye was enough to settle the contest as the visitors struggled to come up with a response.
It was Albion's first win in six games against the Potters and their first top-flight victory at home over today's opponents since 1984.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at The Hawthorns.
Match Statistics:
WEST BROM:
Shots 14
On Target 5
Possession 43%
Corners 7
Fouls 7
STOKE:
Shots 9
On Target 2
Possession 57%
Corners 5
Fouls 16
Was the result fair?
West Brom deserved the three points today for a fine team performance. They completely dominated the first half and although Stoke came out strongly after the break, they regained their composure to hold on and put together a strong finish. Meanwhile, it was a very underwhelming display from the visitors, who will be disappointed at the way they played after failing to create any clear-cut chances.
West Brom's performance
Tony Pulis is well renowned for coming into a team and tightening things up and he has certainly done that at West Brom. They look a formidable prospect and before he arrived they probably would have allowed their lead to slip away from their grasp. Instead, they battled strongly and allowed Stoke just two attempts on target, while creating plenty of chances to double their tally.
Stoke's performance
Mark Hughes will not be pleased at how his side performed today and they never looked like adding to their three successive wins. Their build-up play was slow all afternoon and they failed to cause their usual threat from set pieces. Headers from Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters were about as close as they came, but even those were half-chances at best.
Sports Mole's man of the match
James Morrison: The Scotland international was at the heart of many of his team's best moves all afternoon. He created plenty of chances for his teammates and came close to scoring himself with a powerful effort that was tipped over by Asmir Begovic.
Biggest gaffe
Begovic made a huge mistake when he spilled a harmless pass straight into the path of Ideye, who finished into the unguarded net. However, Ideye was standing in an offside position and the goal was ruled out to spare the keeper's blushes.
Referee's performance
Michael Oliver had some big decisions to make and he got the call to disallow Ideye's goal spot on. There was also an incident in the second half involving Craig Dawson, who seemed to be brought down by Geoff Cameron inside the box. The referee gave nothing on that occasion, when a penalty probably should have been awarded.
What next?
West Brom: The Baggies face a trip to title contenders Manchester City next weekend.
Stoke: Stoke will be looking to return to winning ways when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Britannia Stadium next Saturday.
