West Brom 2 Stoke 1 - Report and pictures
An injury-time Jonny Evans winner gave boss Tony Pulis his third win in a row for West Brom over former club Stoke.
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The Northern Irishman pounced from two yards out during a late goalmouth scramble to score his first goal for the club, as the visitors failed to hold on with 10 men.
Earlier on Stephane Sessegnon's first goal since October 2014 gave the Baggies the lead on the hour mark, the 31-year-old winger roofing the ball past goalkeeper Jack Butland.
But, nine minutes before the end, Stoke substitute Jonathan Walters looked to have snatched a draw with a headed goal from Joselu's inviting outside-of-the-boot cross.
Two minutes after the equaliser, Stoke midfielder Geoff Cameron was shown a straight red card by referee Lee Mason for throwing Claudio Yacob to the floor.
The 10 men couldn't hold on, Evans stabbing home Callum McManaman's low cross after it had pinballed around the box.
ALBION (4-4-1-1): Myhill, Dawson, Evans, McAuley, Brunt, Gardner (McManaman 91), Fletcher (c), Yacob (Berahino 85), Sessegnon, Morrison, Lambert.
Subs not used: Lindegaard (gk), Chester, Pocognoli, Gamboa, Roberts.
STOKE (4-2-1-3): Butland, Pieters, Shawcross (c), Wollscheid, Johnson, Cameron, Whelan (Walters 68), Affelay, Arnautovic, Krkic (Joselu 64), Shaqiri (Adam 85).
Subs not used: Haugaard (gk), Joselu, Wilson, van Ginkel, Walters, Crouch.
Referee: Lee Mason
Attendance: 23,218[/breakout]
The win gives Albion back-to-back victories in the Premier League and moves them up to 12th for the time being on 26 points.
The Potters came to the Hawthorns having put four goals past Everton on Monday, but they rarely troubled Albion as the Baggies issued a lesson in defensive shape and position.
Going forward both Sessegnon and James Morrison were impressive, keeping the ball in unlikely circumstances.
Neither Victor Anichebe nor Jonas Olsson recovered from their hamstring injuries in time to make the squad, so boss Tony Pulis brought Rickie Lambert back into the starting line-up.
Saido Berahino was left on the bench once more, while Pulis named 16-year-old Welsh striker Tyler Roberts among the substitutes for only the second time.
Stoke were unchanged from the side that put four past Everton, with both Marko Arnautovic and Bojan Krkic passed fit.
Unsurprisingly, for a team with the most headed goals in the league, Albion started the game looking threatening from set pieces.
Evans got his head to two separate Chris Brunt deliveries, but was unable to meaningfully divert either on goal.
At the other end, goalkeeper Boaz Myhill was worried by two Stoke crosses, tipping over Glen Johnson's floated delivery and scrambling to make sure Erik Pieters' effort didn't fly in either.
The Potters appealed for handball when Geoff Cameron's shot ricocheted around the Albion box, but referee Lee Mason was unimpressed.
Evans nearly made it third time lucky, 15 minutes in, when centre-back partner Gareth McAuley flicked on Brunt's inswinging corner.
But the former Manchester United man couldn't bundle the ball in from two yards out at the back post as the best chance of the first half went begging.
Three minutes later, Johnson cut inside off the right and let fly with his left foot, but Myhill watched the ball carefully through a crowd of players and beat the full-back's fierce shot away.
Stoke continued to try their luck up the right wing and went close again just before the half-hour mark.
Xherdan Shaqiri clipped in a delivery to Marko Arnautovic but, even though the Austrian beat the offside trap, Gareth McAuley got back in time, and the tame shot through his legs was well saved by Myhill.
Three minutes before half-time Darren Fletcher tried to curl Stephane Sessegnon's pull-back into the far corner with the outside of his boot.
But the Baggies captain couldn't follow up his first goal of the season against Newcastle with another. His shot went wide of Jack Butland's post and an even first half finished goalless.
The second-half started in a similar pedestrian pace, but Stoke began to gain control of proceedings, testing Albion's shape and probing at their defence.
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But it was up to the task. When Arnautovic backheeled Cameron's pass into the path of Shaqiri, three Albion players crowded out the little Swiss winger, allowing Myhill to fall on his tame shot.
The Baggies were rewarded for their patience on the hour mark, when Sessegnon finished off a brilliant move.
Fletcher intercepted the ball from Bojan just inside his own half and then split an out-of-shape Stoke team with a pass forward to Morrison.
The Scot found Sessegnon just inside the box and the Benin international took a touch out of his feet before roofing the shot past Butland.
Walters seemed to have broken Albion hearts with his header in the 81st minute, but the Baggies were given a boost two minutes later when Mason showed Cameron a straight red for lashing out at Yacob.
Pulis threw both Berahino and McManaman on in an effort to win the game, and the Baggies had four shots blocked before winning the corner in injury time that led to the goal.
Amazingly, instead of swinging it in, McManaman and Sessegnon had the presence of mind to play it short, leading to Evans's late winner.
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