West Brom 3 Hull City 2: Tigers fall victim to dramatic fightback
Gareth McAuley and Saido Berahino scored in the final three minutes to rescue Alan Irvine’s men and steal it 3-2.
Robbie Brady and Tom Ince looked to have won it for the Tigers after the visitors had hit back with their own quickfire goals either side of the break. But Berahino’s winner two minutes from time handed Albion a trip to Bournemouth in the last 16.
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Hide AdBrown Ideye had given the Baggies the lead, the £10m man’s first goal for Albion, in an unremarkable game before a thrilling finish at The Hawthorns.
Hatem Ben Arfa started for Hull along with Paul McShane, who spent a year at The Hawthorns before leaving for Sunderland in 2007.
Despite their changes both teams were composed early on with Brady heading over and Youssouf Mulumbu’s low effort deflected inches wide.
But Albion slowly began to take control and struck when Ideye opened his Baggies account on 15 minutes.
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Hide AdLiam O’Neil’s cross was perfect for Sebastian Blanco but he was denied from point-blank range by Steve Harper, only for Ideye to stab in from two yards.
The Nigeria international injured himself while scoring though and was immediately replaced by Georgios Samaras.
Hull lacked the quality or the patience to hurt the Baggies, until they turned the game inside 10 minutes. First, Yannick Sagbo found Brady scampering down the right and he crossed for the unmarked Ince to smash in at the far post on 41 minutes.
Then, five minutes into the second half, Ben Arfa tricked his way inside and his ball split the Baggies’ defence for Brady to collect and steer into the corner from eight yards. Albion struggled until the death when they rallied.
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Hide AdMcAuley volleyed in from 10 yards after Hull had failed to clear a corner and Berahino won it a minute later.
West Brom: Myhill, Gamboa, Olsson, McAuley, Davidson, O’Neil, Yacob, Mulumbu (Varela 75), Blanco, Ideye (Samaras 21), Anichebe (Berahino 59). Unused substitutes: Foster, Wisdom, Dawson, Nabi.
Hull: Harper, Rosenior, Chester, McShane, Figueroa, Bruce (Livermore 64), Ben Arfa, Meyler (Maguire 85), Brady (Aluko 89), Ince, Sagbo. Unused substitutes: Huddlestone, Hernandez, Jakupovic, Jelavic.
Ref: P Dowd (Staffordshire).