Six of the Best: Stoke City

This weekend West Ham United visit the Britannia Stadium, home of Stoke City and a ground where the Hammers have enjoyed some good results over past decades.

Sam Allardyce's side will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat away to Everton last time out with a win at a ground where they have lost just twice on their last ten visits.

Here, whufc.com takes a look at six memorable away wins against the Potters.

Stoke City 0-1 West Ham United
Premier League
2 March 2014

Jack Collison was on hand to end a run of five straight defeats as the Hammers secured a narrow win at the Britannia Stadium.

The midfielder was on as a tenth minute substitute as the Hammers were forced into an early reshuffle due to Matt Taylor's injury.

Ricardo Vaz Te also replaced the injured Joe Cole just a minute after Collison's introduction and the substitutes combined to create the only goal of the game.

The Welsh midfielder slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner after being found by Vaz Te, to give the visitors a much-needed three points.

Stoke City 0-2 West Ham United
Division One
24 April 2004

West Ham picked up a second straight win as their promotion push gathered pace towards the end of the 2003/04 season.

The Hammers put fresh impetus into their challenge with goals from strike duo David Connolly and Marlon Harewood.

Harewood battles for the ball against Stoke's Gerry Taggart

Irishman Connolly netted the opener after 39 minutes, before Harewood doubled the lead with a crucial second goal with 59 minutes played.

A fourth place finish saw the Hammers beat Ipswich Town in the play-off semi-final before they suffered heartbreak in the final against Crystal Palace, suffering a 1-0 loss.

Stoke City 2-4 West Ham United
Division One
20 October 1984

John Lyall took his West Ham side to the Victoria Ground in 1984, just seven days after watching his team take a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United.

The Hammers manager got the perfect response from his players after their defeat to the Red Devils, with goals from Paul Allen, Paul Goddard and Tony Cottee doing the damage.

Home defender George Berry also put through his own net as the Potters lost out in a six-goal thriller.

Stoke would later find themselves shipping five goals to the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground as the season drew to a close, with Billy Bonds scoring twice that day.

Stoke City 1-2 West Ham United
Division One
16 August 1975

A week after losing the Charity Shield to Derby County at Wembley, West Ham kicked off their league campaign with a strong 2-1 win against Stoke City.

Alan Taylor - the man who scored twice in the previous season's FA Cup final to win the trophy for the Hammers - was again on the scoresheet at the Victoria Ground as the visitors took all three points.

Bobby Gould also grabbed himself a goal to kick the season off in style for the Hammers.

Stoke City 1-2 West Ham United
League Cup semi-final first leg
8 December 1971

In the first of what would be four instalments between West Ham and Stoke City in the 1971/71 League Cup semi-final, the Hammers secured a narrow victory.

A goal from Clyde Best and a penalty from Geoff Hurst set the visitors on their way to a first leg lead to defend in the second leg at the Boleyn Ground.


Clyde Best sporting a Hammers' away kit during his time with the Club

In the return fixture, the Potters snatched a 1-0 win to send the game to a replay. The first replay ended 0-0, meaning the teams would have to do battle again.

Stoke finally prevailed and earned their place in the final after a 3-2 triumph at Old Trafford, despite goals from Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds.

Stoke City 0-3 West Ham United
FA Cup round four
17 February 1968

Ron Greenwood's Hammers swatted Stoke aside as they strode into round five of the FA Cup with a comprehensive win.

West Ham booked their spot in the next round courtesy of strikes from Geoff Hurst and a double from John Sissons.

Sheffield United were the opponents for the Hammers in round five but proved too strong, running out 2-1 winners at the Boleyn Ground, with a goal from Brian Dear the only consolation.