A Brown Ideye brace, complimented by a goal apiece from James Morrison and Saido Berahino saw West Brom advance into the quarter finals of the FA Cup at the expense of a lethargic West Ham United.
Ideye slotted in the opener from close range after 19 minutes of play and a stunning Morrison strike extended the Baggies’ lead before the break.
The Nigeria international doubled his tally with a powerful header after the break before Berahino completed a four-star performance with his fifth goal of the tournament.
The Hammers ended the match with ten men as Morgan Amalfatino received his marching order for pushing West Brom’s Chris Brunt in the face following a tangle between both players.
Ideye had been in for the sticks having struggled to get his spark on after a £10m club record transfer from Dynamo Kyiv in the summer, but following a string of confident performances in the wake of his rumoured untimely exit from the Midlands; there appears to be a new phase of the love-hate story among the Hawthorns faithful who have began considering the one-time villain as a hero.
After scoring just two goals in his first 17 matches for Albions, Ideye has struck four times in his last three matches- a feat which prompted manager Tony Pulis to hint Sky Sports News that the player will not be sold to Qatari club Al Gharafa.
The striker had another opportunity to make case for his big-money arrival on Saturday and he took it with both hands. After Craig Gardner misfired his fine effort from a cross in the opening 10 minutes of the game, Ideye was in hand to stab in from Craig Dawson’s low ball.
The home side had a penalty shout turned down by the referee as Kevin Nolan appeared to have brought down the Nigerian in the penalty area in the 24th minute.
Pulis’ men continued to dominate possession with much time and space around the visitors penalty area and Gardner was only denied by the woodwork from well over 35 yards.
Morrison compensated West Brom’s first-half brilliance with a second goal three minutes to the break, beating an outstretched Adrian with a cracking effort having been allowed too much space at the edge of the goal area.
Nolan had his strike ruled for an offside few minutes after the restart, but there was not going to be a second-half revival for Sam Allardyce’s side as Ideye thumped home from six yards to help West Brom take full advantage from a Stephane Sessegnon deflected cross.
Diafra Sakho’s header was cleared off the line by Gareth McAuley before Amalfatino received a red card for dissent.
Berahino then beat the offside trap to latch on to Gardner’s through ball and drill his low shot beyond Adrian at his near post.
Adrian was quick to deny Ideye a hat-trick in the closing minutes, pushing the striker’s first-time shot from just a few yards out over the bar.
The performance was however enough for West Brom to advance into the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since 2008, scoring four goals against a top flight side for the first time since January 1979 (4-0 against Coventry).
