ELECTRONIC pitchside billboards advertised trips to Zanzibar in Tanzania to folk living in Smethwick, Oldbury and the Potteries.

“The true oceanic experience”, it said.

Nowhere is far enough for Ben Foster or Gabriel Tamas to escape to right now.Africa is too close.

They will both need a good dunking after messing this one up.

The 90 minutes were almost up when Romanian Tamas attempted to shepherd a bouncing Jonathan Walters ball through to Ben Foster.

No danger.

But Foster was stuck in two minds and Stoke substitute Ryan Shotton nipped in with his studs above waist height and sidefooted the ball into an empty net.

Foster and Tamas looked at each other, looked at the linesman, looked to the heavens.

Jonas Olsson barked at referee Mike Dean but the goal stood. Olsson will have felt like breaking more photographs on his way down the tunnel, should any be spotted.

It means that one of football’s most ridiculous statistics – Stoke have now lost only one of this pair’s last 28 league clashes dating back to April 1989 – continues.

Stoke may well be conquering all before them on European battlefields, but rather like the Romans they were having their problems closer to home.

Rarely will a side have given them such a thorough going over as Albion did in a first half in conditions that switched between bright sunshine and sheeting showers.

As many as half-a-dozen chances came and went, with the pick of them seeing Asmir Begovic make a fine reflex save to deny Shane Long a third goal in successive league games following his move from Reading.

The second half was more even but still the better chances went Albion’s way and how they missed Peter Odemwimgie, whose ankle injury looks like keeping him out for a fortnight.

Somen Tchoyi was weaving pretty patterns with the ball at his feet and beat Marc Wilson with ease before crossing for skipper Chris Brunt who clashed heads with Robert Huth and headed wide.

Paul Scharner sent a free header straight at Begovic from Brunt’s long free-kick.