West Bromwich Albion cruised into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup by thrashing West Ham United 4-0 at The Hawthorns this afternoon.
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The hosts looked the stronger side from the start as James Morrison got forward inside the opening 10 minutes and appealed for a penalty when Kevin Nolan appeared to handle the ball, but the referee was not interested.
The Baggies did take the lead 20 minutes in as Craig Dawson charged down the wing before sending in a low cross for Brown Ideye, who turned it in at the near post.
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The Nigeria international wanted a penalty a few minutes later when he took a tumble while trying to get free during a corner, but once again Martin Atkinson waved for the hosts to play on.
Craig Gardner almost made it two when he unleashed a powerful drive from 30 yards out, but his strike bounced back off the underside of the crossbar, before the rebound was blasted high.
Tony Pulis's side did double their advantage before the break, though, as Morrison avoided a challenge from Alex Song before rounding two defenders and curling a 25-yard effort into the top corner.
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West Brom increased their lead further early in the second half when Stephane Sessegnon crossed the ball in after a quick counter-attack to leave Ideye to head in his second of the day.
The visitors almost pulled one back as Diafra Sakho forced a diving save from Ben Foster, but the West Brom goalkeeper could not be beaten.
Any hopes of a West Ham comeback were dealt a blow a few minutes later when Morgan Amalfitano was sent off just 10 minutes after coming off the bench for shoving Chris Brunt in the face, seconds after fouling the midfielder.
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West Brom capitalised on their man advantage almost straight away as Saido Berahino made it four, smashing in from a tight angle after Sessegnon played him through.
Albion are the first team through to the draw for the last eight, which will take place on Monday.
Sian Cowper
