West Bromwich Albion 7-0 Gateshead
- Published
Saido Berahino scored four times as West Brom reached the FA Cup fourth round with a ruthless victory over non-league Gateshead at The Hawthorns.
The striker, 21, took his goal tally to 13 for the season with some clinical finishing to give new Albion boss Tony Pulis a win in his first home game.
Victor Anichebe, Chris Brunt and James Morrison also found the net.
Conference outfit Gateshead had managed to hold Albion for 42 minutes before they conceded.
The last time Albion faced a non-league side was in 1994 when they were beaten 2-1 by Halifax Town, and for most of the first half of this contest the Premier League side were far from convincing.
Pulis, who replaced Alan Irvine as head coach earlier this week, vacated his seat in the stands for the dugout and shortly afterwards his side found their stride and effectively ended the match as a contest with two quick goals before the interval.
A scramble inside the Gateshead box from a Chris Brunt free-kick led to the ball falling kindly for Berahino, who controlled a shot through a crowded area high into the net.
Anichebe added a second on the stroke of half-time when he used his strength to hold off Ben Clark before he angled a low finish past Gateshead goalkeeper Adam Bartlett.
Earlier this week, West Brom described reports linking Berahino with a £23m January move to Liverpool as "entire fabrication".
And a minute into the second half the youngster showed why his name has been mentioned in connection with the Premier League's top clubs with a spectacular second goal.
Berahino curled past Bartlett from the edge of the area before he completed his treble when he swept home Chris Baird's low cross on 53 minutes.
Brunt added a fifth when he got to the ball ahead of Bartlett, who had come scurrying off his line, and calmly stroked into an empty net and Morrison the sixth when he tapped in from close range.
Berahino rounded off the rout for the Baggies in injury time with his fourth of the contest when he effortlessly curled the ball past Bartlett into the top-right corner of the net.
West Brom boss Tony Pulis: "Saido is a very talented lad, with great ability and obviously he scores and I am looking forward to working with him.
"I hope he keeps reading the headlines if he scores four every week.
"Someone said he didn't celebrate but it was lovely to see all the lads go over when we scored a goal as that showed the unity we'll need."
Gateshead boss Gary Mills: "I thought we were excellent for 40 minutes, but conceding two before half time killed us.
"We'll move on, we knew we weren't going to win the competition but we wanted to give a good account of ourselves.
"We have been knocked out of the FA Cup and have to get back up the league. We are close to the play-offs and have a big game against Woking on Wednesday."
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