Charlie Adam ensured that Stoke finished in the top half of the Premier League as they beat West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns this afternoon.
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The Baggies should have been in front in the opening minutes when Stephane Sessegnon found himself only a yard out, but somehow managed to hit the crossbar.
Stoke then squandered their own opportunity to take the lead when Jonathan Walters missed the target with a header from six yards.
However, they did break the deadlock on 22 minutes when Marko Arnautovic worked himself into a promising position before delivering a cross that Gareth McAuley turned into his own goal.
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The Austrian was pulling the strings in midfield and nearly produced another goal for the Potters when he fed Stephen Ireland, but his shot was blocked by a retreating West Brom defence.
He nearly scored himself moments after the interval, but his drilled shot was kept out by Ben Foster.
West Brom somehow managed to get back on terms when Sessegnon atoned for his earlier miss by tucking home James Morrison's low cross from 12 yards, putting the Premier League's draw specialists on course for another point.
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However, it was Stoke who snatched the points when Adam unleashed a ferocious shot that Foster was unable to keep out.
The win means that Stoke finish ninth in the table with 50 points.
Chris O'Keefe
