Carlos Vela equalises

Carlos Vela equalises
Vela rescued a point for West Brom but should have won the match late on

Substitute Carlos Vela scored a vital late equaliser against Stoke to lift West Brom out of the relegation zone.

After a forgettable first half Rory Delap profited from some poor West Brom defending to head Stoke in front from a Jermaine Pennant corner.

But Vela benefited from a close offside decision to level from six yards only five minutes after he had come on.

The Mexican striker almost snatched a winner in injury time but was denied at pint-blank range by Asmir Begovic.

The Potters against the Baggies on a dark Monday night in late February offered little for the neutral but though there was a marked lack of quality there was no shortage of incident in the closing stages.

The first half was wretched and though West Brom were comfortable with their five-man midfield they offered nothing in attack in the opening half hour, while Stoke, who opted for Kenwyne Jones and John Carew up front, created little themselves.

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Pulis angry with officials

Finally Graeme Dorrans jinked through and tested Begovic with an angled drive and the home goalkeeper also had to be alert to keep out a low shot from Marc-Antoine Fortune when the lone striker cut in from the right.

Predictably Stoke's main threat came from the long throws of Delap but Jermaine Pennant, who had an earlier effort from similar distance pushed aside by Scott Carson, beat the goalkeeper with another 25-yard free-kick that clipped the top of the crossbar.

But having looked comfortable against the physical threat from Stoke, naive defending ensured that West Brom's failure to keep a clean sheet stretching back to the second game of the season would continue.

Delap, so often the provider, was the recipient of a gift as his marker Dorrans slipped and the Stoke midfielder, barely two yards from the goal-line, steered Pennant's left-wing corner into the net with a cluster of defenders looking on.

The goal at least sparked some determination from the Baggies, Brunt forcing another save from Begovic with a left-footed drive from 20 yards and Fortune's attempted header looping off his shoulder on to the top of the bar.

Vela was introduced with fewer than 10 minutes remaining but he made a huge impact, albeit with a degree of good fortune about his goal.

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West Brom 'resilience' pleases Hodgson

The Mexican striker appeared to be offside when a Steven Reid cross came in from the right but with no flag raised the ion-loan arsenal man was left in the clear six yards out and drilled in the equaliser.

In injury time West Brom almost snatched a winner when Begovic made a superb double save, first to keep out a stinging drive then to block Vela's close-range effort from the rebound.

But Roy Hodgson's men will go into Saturday's derby at Birmingham only one point behind the League Cup winners and with renewed optimism that they can avoid the drop.

Live text and stats



Monday, 28 February 2011

Barclays Premier League
Home Team Score Away Team Time
Stoke 1-1 West Brom FT
(HT 0-0)

* Delap 53

* Vela 87

Hide team line-ups and match stats
Stoke
* 01 Begovic
* 04 Huthyellow card
* 17 Shawcrossyellow card
* 12 Wilson
* 14 Pugh
* 16 Pennant (Whelan 78)
* 18 Whitehead
* 24 Delap
* 09 Jones (Fuller 83)
* 19 Walters
* 22 Carew (Etherington 65)

Substitutes

* 29 Sorensen,
* 03 Higginbotham,
* 05 Collins,
* 28 Wilkinson,
* 06 Whelan,
* 26 Etherington,
* 10 Fuller

West Brom

* 01 Carson
* 03 Olsson
* 20 Shorey
* 23 Meite
* 11 Bruntyellow card
* 12 Reid
* 14 Thomas (Vela 82)
* 17 Dorrans
* 21 Mulumbuyellow card (Tchoyi 73)
* 33 Scharner
* 28 Fortune (Odemwingie 73)

Substitutes

* 13 Myhill,
* 30 Tamas,
* 36 Jara,
* 05 Tchoyi,
* 07 Morrison,
* 18 Vela,
* 24 Odemwingie

Ref: OliverAtt: 25,019
STOKE
WEST BROM
Possession

* Stoke 51%
* West Brom 49%

Attempts on target

* Stoke 3
* West Brom 11

Attempts off target

* Stoke 3
* West Brom 5

Corners

* Stoke 4
* West Brom 0

Fouls

* Stoke 17
* West Brom 14

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