West Bromwich Albion’s Nigerian striker Brown Ideye (third from right) heads their third goal past West Ham United’s Spanish goalkeeper Adrian during the English FA Cup fifth round at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich, central England yesterday.

 

Reuters/London
Resurgent record signing Brown Ideye scored twice as West Bromwich Albion progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with an emphatic 4-0 victory against West Ham United at the Hawthorns yesterday.
Championship side Blackburn Rovers shocked Premier League Stoke City 4-1 with a Josh King hat-trick while Reading sealed a place in the last eight with a 2-1 defeat of Derby County.
Nigerian Ideye, signed for 10mn pounds from Dynamo Kiev in July but yet to shine, applied a simple finish to give West Brom a 20th-minute lead and James Morrison added a second before the break with a stunning long-range strike.
Ideye headed his second, and fourth in his last three matches, in the 57th minute and Saido Berahino completed the rout after West Ham substitute Morgan Amalfitano was dismissed for a poor challenge and a shove to the face of Chris Brunt.
“Right now I am very happy for the team and for myself for the two goals today,” Ideye told BT Sport. “As you can see we were on top of the game from the goalkeeper to the attack.”
“I am very happy here so I just have to keep working hard. We just have to enjoy every game and if we continue like this I know we will do very well.”
 POWERFUL IDEYE
After a lively and even opening, the marauding Craig Dawson won possession in West Ham territory before rolling a perfect low cross into the path of Ideye who stroked home.
Craig Gardener came within inches of adding a stunning second but his rasping long-range shot shuddered against the bar with West Ham goalkeeper Adrian well beaten.
The hosts did not have to wait long to double their lead when Morrison added a spectacular second in the 42nd minute.
West Ham’s Mark Noble surrendered possession and Morrison was allowed space on the edge of the box before letting fly with an unstoppable thunderbolt.
The hosts continued their dominance after the break and Ideye generated great power and placement from a standing start to head home Stephane Sessegnon’s deflected cross.
Substitute Amalfitano was brought on in the 60th minute but stupidly got a red card when he followed a rash challenge with a petulant shove in the face of Brunt.
West Ham’s misery was compounded when Berahino fired in from an acute angle for his fifth goal in three FA Cup appearances this season.
Peter Crouch gave Stoke a 10th minute lead but Blackburn restored parity with a King headed after 36 minutes.
After Stoke’s Geoff Cameron was dismissed for a last-man tackle Rudy Gestede gave the second tier side the lead on the verge of halftime.
King fired home his second and Blackburn’s third in the 50th minute before he raced clear of a lumbering Stoke defensive line to complete his hat-trick in the 55th minute.


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