West Bromwich Albion slipped from the top spot in the Championship as Ricardo Fuller smashed a hat-trick to extend Albion's 25-year wait for a victory at Stoke City.

The in-form Jamaican hitman was the difference between the sides in a match Albion largely controlled.

Roman Bednar grabbed a consolation with his sixth goal in as many outings and missed a fantastic chance to set up a barnstorming finish late on when he was denied by the legs of Stoke keeper Steve Simonsen.

However, the Stoke fans broke into a chorus of 'we always beat West Brom' and the hoodoo the Potters have over Albion on home soil continued.

It was billed as the artists versus the hodcarriers, the clash of styles and football philosophies, and the romantic commitment to passing football of Albion's Tony Mowbray against the up-and-at-them, direct and physical style of Stoke's Tony Pulis.

While Albion love to pass the ball to death as they look for the key to unlock defences Stoke adopt a less subtle approach and merely batter the door down.

The weapons of choice were Albion's rapier against the bludgeoning power of Stoke's broadsword and it was the muscle and might of the Potters that proved to be the difference.

Albion's young defensive partnership of Bostjan Cesar and Pele just could not cope with the physical presence of giant centre forward Mamady Sidibe and the pace of Fuller.

They were bullied into submission like a pair of schoolboys and Mowbray withdrew Cesar, who had been cautioned in the first half, for his own protection after Fuller skipped past him to seal Stoke's victory in the 66th minute.

Mowbray made two changes to the side that was so impressive against Charlton Athletic last week with goalkeeper Dean Kiely returning after a two-match absence, Luke Steele dropping to the bench, and Carl Hoefkens slotted back in at right back against his former club after recovering from a hamstring injury. It certainly was not a welcome return for Hoefkens.

Albion are by far the hot-shots of the Championship and have scored 47 goals so far but it was Fuller, who had just signed a new three-year contract to stay at the Britannia Stadium, who put the hosts in front after only five minutes.

Sidibe's clever flick dissected the static Cesar and Pele for Fuller to race on to score his ninth goal of the season, slipping the ball beneath the advancing Kiely.

Albion had started brightly until then and the goal certainly didn't knock the stuffing out of them. They continued to control possession and created several opportunities but failed to test Simonsen in the Stoke goal.

Bednar blazed wide after being played in by a clever Zoltan Gera pass and then the latter went close with a long-range effort that skidded just wide of the far post.

Stoke, who had for the large part been content to stop Albion from playing, then sprung to life and Kiely had to push away a fierce Liam Lawrence strike and Cesar was cautioned for a wild challenge on Fuller when the Jamaican could have been through.

The tackle was committed ten yards in from the touchline but, if it had been further infield, referee Mark Halsey could have brandished a straight red.

Albion pid a heavy price for Cesar's indiscretion as, from the resulting free kick, Lawrence swung a deep cross into the penalty area.

The Albion defence failed to clear and Fuller was left unmarked to sweep the ball home at the far post.

Mowbray made a bold move at half time and withdrew the lacklustre pair of Chris Brunt and Filipe Teixeira, sending on strike duo Ishmael Miller and Kevin Phillips.

Almost the entire second period was played in the Stoke half but, despite a now three-pronged attack of Bednar, Miller and Phillips, Albion struggled to make their dominance count.

Robert Koren forced the first save out of Simonsen in the 58th minute and Leon Cort came to his keeper's aid two minutes later to clear a Miller header off the line.

The Stoke hex over Albion struck again in the 65th minute when Stoke finally broke away and Sidibe released Fuller who bedazzled Cesar before dumping the Albion defender on his backside and slipping the ball between Pele's legs and into the bottom corner for his 11th goal of the season and his fifth in two matches.

Martin Albrechtsen made his return from injury to replace Cesar and his return was one of the major plus points for Albion.

His experience at the back will be vital over the heavy Christmas schedule.

It was Albrechsten's ball into the area that set up Bednar for a consolation in the 71st minute and then the big Czech striker seized on a sloppy Cort back-pass but could not beat Simonsen to give Albion a lifeline.

To their credit, the Albion fans stayed to the end and applauded the side off the pitch to show their appreciation for the style of football their team are serving up even if on this occasion they were out-muscled.