A late onslaught from West Ham United was unable to prevent Stoke City from reaching the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1972 as a combination of Thomas Sorensen's brilliance and a slice of good fortune secured Tony Pulis and his players a trip to Wembley next month.Sorensen denied Victor Obinna, Robbie Keane and Carlton Cole in a frenetic final 25 minutes in which Matthew Upson also headed against the crossbar and West Ham had two penalty appeals turned down as the visitors pressed for an equaliser. Danny Higginbotham's deflected second-half free-kick, however, proved to be the difference on an afternoon when Mike Jones, the referee, made a number of contentious decisions.Stoke made much the better start and came close to taking the lead inside two minutes when Robert Green repelled Matthew Etherington's header from point-blank range. Huth was more ruthless from a similar position 10 minutes later, the German enjoying a free run on goal, after Jon Walters blocked off Upson, before emphatically heading Rory Delap's long throw-in past Green from inside the six-yard box for his eighth goal of the season.If West Ham were aggrieved with Walters's actions, it was nothing compared to the anger Stoke felt when Frédéric Piquionne equalised on the half-hour mark. Running onto Thomas Hitzlsperger's perfectly weighted pass, Piquionne appeared to bring the ball down with the top of his outstretched right arm before lifting it over the advancing Sorensen. Stoke complained furiously but the goal was allowed to stand.Within 11 seconds of the second half, it was West Ham's turn to rail against Jones after Parker was penalised for an innocuous looking challenge on Etherington in the area. Green, however, dived to his left to claw Etherington's poor kick to safety. Yet Stoke were quick to profit from another dead-ball opportunity, after Carlton Cole handled Jermaine Pennant's free-kick in the 62nd minute. Higginbotham took the resultant free-kick; Green got a strong hand to it but was unable to keep it out.Having played within themselves for much of this contest, West Ham came to life in the last quarter of the game. Sorensen brilliantly pushed Obinna's drive over in the 67th minute and moments later smothered Keane's effort at the near post. Jones then rejected two West Ham claims for a penalty in the space of five minutes, as Keane appealed for handball against Huth and James Tomkins protested that Walters dragged him to the ground.FA CupStoke CityWest Ham UnitedStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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