Stoke 0 – 1 Brighton

Brighton progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals as teenage striker Evan Ferguson’s first-half effort secured a 1-0 win at Stoke.

The Republic of Ireland international, 18, completed a fine move on the half-hour mark to net his fifth goal for the Seagulls.

Championship hosts Sky Bet nearly equalized after on-loan Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe broke through before Brighton substitute Danny Welbeck hit the post in stoppage time as the visitors claimed a place in eighth finals for the third time in six seasons. .

Ten days after their last game, the 1-0 Premier League loss to Fulham, boss Roberto De Zerbi made five changes to his starting line-up, with Ferguson being one of two 18-year-olds in the team.

The other was Argentina midfielder Facundo Buonanotte, making his first start since joining the club in January, while skipper Lewis Dunk retained his spot for a 400th Brighton appearance.

Stoke, currently 17th in the second tier, have had an XI showing seven adjustments since Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Millwall, including Alex Neil in January bringing in the signing of Tuanzebe for a full start.

Potters striker Tyrese Campbell recorded the game’s first attempt in the fifth minute when he cut from the right and saw Jason Steele block his shot.

Shortly after, Buonanotte’s header was deflected away by Jack Bonham, and Jan Paul van Hecke nodded from the resulting corner.

Stoke threatened again in the 29th minute with a low shot from Campbell which Steele went down to save but Brighton had dominated possession and a minute later they were in front as Kaoru Mitoma ran towards Dunk’s excellent through ball and threw a delightful pass of his own to Ferguson, who tapped.

The closing stages of the first half then saw Moises Caicedo hit a strike wide of Stoke’s goal and a Jordan Thompson shot cleared by Steele.

Pascal Gross trailed an effort wide and Jeremy Sarmiento’s shot was saved well by Bonham as Brighton sought another early in the second half, before Stoke almost equalized in the 65th minute with Tuanzebe sending a fair header next to.

Mitoma looked likely to double Brighton’s advantage in the 73rd minute, but his shot ended up in the side netting.

After resisting some pressure from Stoke, the visitors then almost added a second late, Welbeck seeing a shot saved by Bonham and another coming back from the post.

And after?

City of Stoke visit Sunderland at the Stade de la Lumière on Saturday in the Championship; kick off 3 p.m. Brighton confront West Ham at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League at the same time.