Stoke City bowed out of the Emirates FA Cup as Crystal Palace comfortably saw off the away side.

A Wilfried Zaha goal in the opening 20 minutes was enough for the Eagles to advance in the Cup.

The Potters had few chances in a dull contest but their best chance came late midway through the second-half with Xherdan Shaqiri but his powerful show flew high over the crossbar. 

Stoke fought valiantly but their efforts were in vain as the home side looked capable of holding back Bojan and co. 

Realism of FA Cup?

With the FA Cup representing both teams only realistic target of silverware it was surprising to see both sides field weakened teams in a match that was for the taking.

Mark Hughes made a total of eight changes to his starting 11 after many of his regular starters featured in the dramatic League Cup semi final against Liverpool on Tuesday which saw his side crash out on penalties.

Recent loan signing Emmanuel Adebayor was unavailable for the tie with his fitness still an issue as the striker has not played competitively since May of last season. 

Stoke City still possessed a strong side however as exciting attackers Shaqiri and Bojan Krkic both played with the two looking dangerous on several occasions.

Shaqiri has his sides best chance to earn a replay but fired way too high over the bar from 9 yards out missing a crucial opportunity.

Many fringe team players also featured for the away side as veteran forward Peter Odemwingie took to the pitch for the first time since December but struggled to make any sort of impact on the game. 

Hughes' side have now been knocked out of two cup competitions in the space of five days as any chance of silverware has been effectively destroyed. 

Zaha The Superstar

The 23-year-old scored one of the stand-out goals of the campaign as he brushed past three Stoke defenders to then cooly fire past stand in goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard.

Zaha's finish was the decider in a game of few clean cut chance and the forward demonstrated his top level ability to give his side a major advantage. 

The former Manchester United attacker was often the instigator in the Palace attacks driving his team forward and forced questions of the Potter's defence. 

Wilson Red Card

In a typically stale contest this fixture accumulated a high number of fouls in a match of very few talking points. 

With 26 fouls given accross the 90 minutes with Stoke taking the majority it was likely that a red card call would occur at some point at Selhurst Park.

A Marc Wilson challenge was the subject of a dismissal as he brought down striker Frazier Campbell with the defender looking close to being the last man.

Referee Mark Clattenburg disagreed as he thought a defender would have covered the challenge.

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About the author
Joel Lampkin
Sports Journalist from Chester University, Professional wrestling writer. Contact [email protected]