Brighton's hopes of securing a first major trophy remain alive as Evan Ferguson's first-half goal proved enough to secure a place in the FA Cup sixth round.

Ferguson's far-post effort saw off a battling Stoke outfit, who came closest to equalising when defender Axel Tuanzebe sent a far-post header across goal and narrowly wide.

It is Brighton's third quarter-final appearance in six years, having previously only been there twice in their entire history.

They reached the final in 1983, when they were beaten in a replay by Manchester United, and the semi-final in 2019, when they lost to Manchester City.

Roberto de Zerbi's men failed to reach the heights that allowed them to beat Liverpool in the previous round, but with skipper Lewis Dunk turning in another impressive defensive display on his 400th appearance for the club, they always had a measure of control against their Championship opponents, who could have taken an early lead when Tyrese Campbell's effort was kept out by Jason Steele.

After the match, De Zerbi spoke of the club's ambitions for the rest of the season: "I can't promise anything but I can promise we will work hard every day to make them [the fans] happy and proud.

"I understand they want to win a trophy and competition. To win, we need to work and improve. For the moment we have the possibility to arrive in Europe."