- Albion 2, Blackpool 1
Yves Bissouma produced a goal of the season contender and Steven Alzate claimed a fortuitous first in Albion colours to seal their place in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Bissouma's sensational strike from distance put Albion ahead but Gary Madine levelled for Blackpool on the stroke of half-time.
Albion needed some luck to win the tie when Alzate deflected Alexis Mac Allister's shot just before the hour.
Albion were rarely at their fluent best but they can look forward to visiting either Brentford or Leicester City in early February.
What happened...
Two terrific corners from Mac Allister in the first 14 minutes nearly opened the route to goal for Albion. Lewis Dunk headed the first onto the roof of the net and Adam Webster was also unmarked when he headed over.
Albion dominated possession in the opening stages but they were guilty of some sloppy passing and had a scare in the 18th minute when Christian Walton had to push away Luke Garbutt’s well struck free kick from the right-hand corner of the box.
The game needed a spark though and Bissouma provided it in spectacular fashion in the 27th minute. Picking up possession 32 yards from goal he unleashed a fantastic right-foot shot into the top left corner which Blackpool keeper Chris Maxwell had no chance of stopping. Albion will have at least one entry in the FA Cup Goal of the Season.
Zeqiri operated up front with Mac Allister and Percy Tau in support and the Swiss had a great chance to extend the lead when Joel Veltman's cross found him unmarked ten yards out but he disappointingly failed to even test Maxwell with his header. Zeqiri then fired wide of the near post from the left-hand corner of the box.
Blackpool had offered little threat until then but they levelled in stoppage time with a well-worked goal. Jerry Yates' backheel allowed Garbutt to whip over a lovely cross from the left and Madine got in front of Dunk to steer the ball expertly past Walton for his fourth goal in the Cup, making him top scorer in this season's competition.
Webster needed running repairs to a cut to his left cheek when he was caught accidentally by Jordan Williams when he attacked a corner early in the second half - but Madine wasn't far away from scoring again in the 53rd minute when he stretched but couldn't quite make contact with James Husband's cross.
Maxwell parried Mac Allister's curling strike for a corner, but the Argentinian had better luck in the 58th minute when he restored Albion's lead when his shot from the edge of the box took a big deflection off Alzate, completely wrong-footing Maxwell as it went into the bottom left-hand corner.
It was Mac Allister's last involvement as Potter made a triple change with top scorer Neal Maupay, Leo Trossard and Solly March arrived on the hour.
Maupay had a great chance to seal it when Trossard's cross found him in space eight yards out but Maxwell saved well from the Frenchman’s first-time effort before Pascal Gross, leaning back, could only fire over after good work by March, who then saw a curler with his weaker right-foot drift wide. Maxwell also denied Davy Propper as the home side finished strongly.
Not a vintage performance by any means and another occasion which needed a crowd but the last 16 beckons.
All change
Managers shaking their selections for FA Cup ties is nothing new, but it's not often in a Premier League v League One game that the lower-ranked team makes more changes. But because of a COVID-19 outbreak affecting five players Blackpool were without seven of the team that had knocked West Brom out a fortnight ago. Graham Potter made six alterations to the team that beat Leeds United last week with Christian Walton making his first Albion start since May 2015 and only his second appearance at the Amex.
Bissouma blasts
Mali midfielder Yves Bissouma doesn't score many goals but it's some show reel. All four of his Albion goals have come from outside the box and this effort, hit from 32 yards, was the best of the lot.
The line-up
Albion: Walton, Veltman, Webster, Dunk, Burn, Propper, Alzate (March 60), Bissouma, Mac Allister (Trossard 60), Zeqiri (Gross 75), Tau (Maupay 60)
Subs: White, Moder, Sanchez, Sanders, Khadra.
Referee: Darren England