After two drama-filled defeats in a week to local rivals Aston Villa, victory over Stoke, the club he managed for seven years before they judged his work there to be done, was a welcome tonic for Tony Pulis. A fourth consecutive clean sheet at home and a first-half goal from Brown Ideye takes West Bromwich Albion to 13th and 11 points from the drop zone. When Pulis, the engineer of Crystal Palace’s great escape last season, took over in January they hovered just one point above the bottom three, offering little to inspire optimism among their fans. Now their place in the top tier looks secure. Stoke were aiming at a fourth win in a row for the first time since 2011 but Pulis halted their progress. He said: ‘It doesn’t mean any more to win over Stoke, I had a wonderful journey there and left them in a sound financial and good position and did wonderful things. Today was about West Brom getting the points.’ Brown Ideye scores the opening goal during the   match between West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City . Ideye's opener was the only goal of the game as West Bromwich Albion beat Stoke at the Hawthorns . Pulis praised the contribution made by Darren Fletcher, who arrived at The Hawthorns on a free transfer on January deadline day after a lengthy struggle with ulcerative colitis in his later years at Manchester United. ‘He’s been a fantastic signing,’ said Pulis. ‘A tremendous lad. His enthusiasm and energy levels are brilliant. I don’t know what illness it was but he looks as sprightly as any 20-year-old. I thought he and James Morrison [who partners Fletcher for Scotland] dominated the midfield.’ There were a few controversial moments, such as referee Michael Oliver’s decision to wave away what seemed a blatant penalty for Geoff Cameron’s hefty second-half challenge on Craig Dawson in the box. Oliver, who was praised for his officiating of Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat by Arsenal on Monday, is likely to get attention for different reasons after waving away penalty appeals, to Pulis’s obvious fury. ‘Michael will look at that again and be very disappointed, that’s a blatant a penalty as I’ve seen in a long time,’ he said. A beautiful cross into the box from Craig Gardner led to the goal in the 19th minute. It was expertly headed in at the far post by a stooping Ideye, who found it far too easy to escape the attentions of Phil Bardsley. Stoke had few chances and manager Mark Hughes lamented: ‘It was just one of those days when we had too many underperforming.’ Ideye celebrates as his first half goal earns the Baggies their fourth successive home win . Craig Gardner celebrates with Ideye in the first half of the game against Stoke City on Saturday . England youngster Saido Berahino joins in with the celebrations as the hosts beat Stoke City . WBA (4-4-2): Foster 6 (Myhill, 56 6.5) Dawson 6, McAuley 7, Lescott 6, Brunt 6; Morrison 6, Fletcher 7, Gardner 6, Sessegnon 6; Berahino (Baird 95') 6.5, Ideye 7.5 (Olsson 90') Subs not used: Wisdom, Pocognoli, Mulumbu, Gamboa . Booked: Foster . Tony Pulis: 6.5 . Stoke: (4-2-3-1) Begovic 6; Bardsley 5, Shawcross 5, Wilson 5.5, Pieters 6 (Cameron, 45 6); Nzonzi 6, Whelan 6; Walters 6(Diouf, 67), Adam 5.5, Moses 6 (Arnautovic, 58 6); Crouch 5.5 . Subs not used: Butland; Ireland, Sidwell, Teixeira . Booked: Wilson, Diouf . Goal: Ideye 19' Mark Hughes: 5.5 . Referee: Michael Oliver 5 . Star man: Ideye . Brown Ideye's 19th minute header was enough to seal victory for West Brom. CLICK HERE to see more from our brilliant Match Zone service . Pulis, who was given the Manager of the Month award for February, has now won seven of 13 games since taking over and appears to have extracted extra oomph from Ideye. Or perhaps it was the threat of life in the Qatari desert that did it. West Brom were close to taking a £6m hit selling him to al-Gharafi but the 26-year-old refused the move and both parties must be glad of his stubbornness now. Ideye thought he had nicked another in the 33rd minute, pouncing after Begovic spilled the ball, but was rightly ruled offside. Ideye limped off in the 40th minute after being clattered by Charlie Adam but hobbled back on seconds later. Ben Foster also suffered a knock to the knee. He struggled on for a while with Chris Brunt stepping in to take free kicks but was eventually replaced by Boaz Myhill after 55 minutes. The deputy did his job well, tipping a Jon Walters header over the bar as a reenergised Stoke sought the equalizer. Referee Oliver, who was praised for his officiating of Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Monday, is likely to get attention for different reasons after waving away appeals for what appeared a blatant penalty for Cameron’s burly challenge on Dawson in the box. Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis shake hands ahead of the Hawthorns showdown on Saturday afternoon . Darren Fletcher  is tackled by Victor Moses  during the match between West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City . Glenn Whelan challenges England youngster Berahino for the ball as the Potters look to get back into the game . After Jonathan Walters was substituted after a clash of heads with Dawson, momentum swung back the way of the hosts. A driving effort by James Morrison was tipped over by Begovic. It was the 82nd minute before Stoke got their second shot on target, Crouch’s tame effort easily collected by Myhill. The keeper again came to the rescue of his side, bringing down Crouch just outside the area when the striker was yomping towards the goal deep into injury time and was shown a yellow card. Stephane Sessegnon started for the first time for West Brom since their 1-0 win over Southampton where he was widely condemned for diving in an attempt to win a penalty. Manager Tony Pulis said he has not yet reprimanded the midfielder who he revealed had suffered a family bereavement in recent weeks. 'I’ve had a good chat with Steph,' said Pulis, as quoted by The Birmingham Mail, 'I don’t want to go into it but it’s a tragedy what has happened and I’ve left it with him to be honest. ‘He’s been a bit down in the dumps lately although he looked a bit brighter on Thursday in training. The greatest healer there will be time.' Lanky striker Peter Crouch jumps highest as he is challenged in the air by Gardner at the Hawthorns .
Brown Ideye struck in the first half to continue impressive home form . West Brom have now won six of their last eight games at the Hawthorns . But hosts lost goalkeeper Ben Foster to injury in the second half . Stoke City managed just two shots on target during the whole match .