Dango Ouattara scored twice as Bournemouth made light of their striker crisis with a huge 5-1 FA Cup third round win over West Brom.
Cherries boss Andoni Iraola said this week that they will have to dive into the January transfer market after strikers Evanilson and Enes Unal suffered serious injuries.
But on this evidence they may not need to after Ouattara hit a brace while Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison were also on target.
The Premier League side were briefly behind after the managerless Baggies, sixth in the Championship, scored an early goal.
Chris Brunt, still in an interim role as the club continue their search for Carlos Corberan’s successor, made seven changes to his starting line-up – Iraola made six – and saw his side draw first blood in the 14th minute after Darnell Furlong wins a free kick 30 yards out.
John Swift swung in a cross, Grady Diangana’s header bounced off the crossbar and Caleb Taylor was quickest to react to head home the rebound.
It was the defender’s first start for Albion since the third round last season and his first goal for the club, having been recalled from a loan spell at League One Wycombe just last week.
The Baggies, five-time FA Cup winners, were hitting the ball with confidence and looking good for their lead.
That was until the 27th minute when David Brooks missed everyone in the area after a cross and visiting goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith caught it.
Kluivert stalked the far post and knocked the loose ball into the roof of the net for the equalizer.
Seven minutes later Kluivert’s clever reverse pass put Ouattara behind and the Burkina Faso international slid in to finish under Wildsmith from a tight angle.
A minute before half-time, Brooks led Bournemouth into a counter-attack with a sudden penetration through the middle.
His pass was perfectly timed for Ouattara, who was relishing a central attacking role, to calmly slot in his second after Wildsmith.
Bournemouth have never won the FA Cup and only made it past the fifth round once in their history.
But they booked their place in the fourth round two minutes into the second half when Semenyo, a half-time substitute, took a short corner for Ouattara.
The Baggies were cut open too easily as Ouattara found Brooks, who cut the ball back for Semenyo to fire high into the net.
Then, in stoppage time, Semenyo came on as a substitute for Jebbison – just recalled from his loan spell at Watford – to round off the comprehensive victory with his first Cherries goal.
What’s coming up?
