West Brom boss Carlos Corberan saluted the returning Daryl Dike after the striker ended his eight-month injury nightmare.

The United States international, out since April with a serious Achilles injury, scored as the Baggies cruised past Aldershot 4-1 in the FA Cup third round.

First-half goals from Nathaniel Chalobah Jovan Malcolm also made it a Sunday stroll for the hosts before Tom Fellows’ late fourth and Ollie Bray’s consolation.

It was a perfect comeback for Dike as he looks to finally shake off the injury issues which have restricted him to just 28 appearances in two years.

A hamstring injury on his full debut in January 2022 sidelined him for six months and a thigh problem at the start of last season kept the 23-year-old out for three months.

Corberan said: “The way he celebrated the goal says many things about how much he has been suffering, how important it was to score, how important he is for us in the the dressing room.

“Afterwards, the players gave him a big round of applause. They were celebrating he has come back with the group and scored the goal because eight months out, managing the injury, is difficult especially for him after suffering injuries.

“To come back was an important step for us. It’s a massive step. We need to keep working on his adaptation to football again, hopefully we can keep growing in the process.

“To achieve something in the Championship you need to not have a lot of injuries. To have Dike as striker is always a positive.”

There was never any suggestion of a third-round upset as the Baggies raced into a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes.

Chalobah hooked in Fellows’ cross after seven minutes before Malcolm seized on Cian Harries’ slip to add a second.

Dike got his goal after 27 minutes, taking advantage of more sloppy defending, to fire in from 10 yards and wrap the game up before half time.

The second half was a procession, with Kyle Bartley lobbing onto the roof of the net from halfway and Fenton Heard shooting over.

Aldershot offered little in response although Lorent Tolaj tested Josh Griffiths from distance.

Layton Love blazed over after being sent clean through but Fellows added a fourth with two minutes left when he cut inside and fired in off the post.

Bray netted a consolation in the fifth minute of injury time to leave boss Tommy Widdrington proud.

He said: “It was a nice way to end, our fans were on the up. We shot ourselves in the foot for two goals, standing on the ball at one stage and then missing a corner and it hitting someone in the face.

“They had a lot of the ball in the first half but didn’t have a lot of efforts. I thought we showed them a bit too much respect in the first half.

“I’ve got no qualms about the result they are a class act and Carlos is a top person.”

West Brom cruised into the FA Cup fourth round after a first-half blitz against Aldershot.

Early goals from Nathaniel Chalobah and Jovan Malcolm set the Baggies on course for a 4-1 win and ended any thoughts the National League visitors had of a shock.

Daryl Dike – making his first appearance since April following a serious Achilles injury – added a third before half-time with the gulf between the Championship promotion-chasers and the Shots obvious.

There were never any hopes of a comeback and Tom Fellows’ first senior goal completed the scoring late on before Ollie Bray’s consolation.

The 4,800 travelling fans were dreaming of an upset but their trip to The Hawthorns turned into a nightmare inside the opening 15 minutes.

It was easy enough for Albion when Fellows was sent scampering down the right and his cross was hooked into the top corner by Chalobah from 12 yards for a seventh-minute opener.

Just eight minutes later it was 2-0 when Cian Harries’ slip allowed Malcolm – whose only other Albion goal came against Chesterfield in the FA Cup a year ago –  a clear run and he coolly stroked into the corner.

The Shots, 10th in the National League, offered little aside from Jack Barham’s deflected effort and it was little surprise when Albion grabbed a third after 27 minutes.

It came from more wretched defending as Stuart O’Keefe could only head Alex Mowatt’s corner to Dike to hammer in from 10 yards.

The striker went hunting a second and tested Jordi van Stappershoef from distance but as a contest the game was over.

Baggies boss Carlos Corberan even had the luxury of replacing Dike with Akeel Higgins at the break, a pre-planned change as the striker returns to match fitness.

Victory was inevitable, Albion just had to maintain their concentration for a second-half cruise. Aldershot, though, did try to inject a little life to proceedings and Tyler Frost had a shot blocked.

But normal service quickly resumed and Kyle Bartley underlined the Baggies’ confidence when his lob from halfway dropped a yard over.

Fenton Heard also drilled over, while Aldershot’s Lorent Tolaj tested Josh Griffiths from distance.

Layton Love should have grabbed a fourth for Albion after being sent through with four minutes left only to blaze over but Fellows did net two minutes later, cutting inside and finishing off the post.

Yet there was still time for the visitors to score a consolation when Bray fired in from eight yards in stoppage time.

Aldershot assistant manager Richard Dryden felt his side could have beaten Stockport as they held the League Two leaders 2-2 in the FA Cup second round.

A pulsating tie at the EBB Stadium means both teams will meet again at Edgeley Park to decide who will face West Brom in the third round.

With manager Tommy Widdrington prohibited from post-game media interviews due to a touchline ban, Dryden admitted the outcome left him both pleased and drained.

He said: “We’ve had every emotion you could possibly have. We played some great stuff at times.

“We could have won it, we could have lost it, so that’s where we are. We’ve got another game in the replay.

“You can’t expect a side of the quality of Stockport to roll over and have their tummies tickled.

“They showed the quality they’ve got and their manager changed a few things and got around us a little bit. So our emotions are high and low at the moment.”

Aldershot looked to cause another shock for a League Two side after their first-round demolition of Swindon, and took a 10-thminute lead when a Josh Stokes shot deflected into the net.

Sky Bet League Two leaders Stockport hit back two minutes later when Neill Byrne made his way past the home defence from the half-way line, and delivered an excellent strike from 25 yards.

The visitors came out strongly in the second half and took the lead a minute after the restart – Paddy Madden finishing off a move involving Macauley Southam-Hales and Nick Powell.

The hosts remained in the tie though, and responded in fine style after 67 minutes when Stokes finished off a devastating counter-attack from a Lorent Tolaj pass.

Stockport were almost victorious in injury time, when a Fraser Horsfall header hit the post, but both sides must play again in a game where a tie was a fair result.

County manager Dave Challinor felt the game was a classic case of a two-halved contest, but was content that his side remain in the draw.

He said: “We were disappointed with our first half. We were fortunate to be level at the break.

“In the second half, I’m much happier with the performance as it showed that when we take care – especially in the attacking half of the pitch – we should win the game with the chances we’ve created.

“That’s not taking anything away from Aldershot, they would have felt based on their first half performance they could have had more.

“We’ve not settled for the replay, but if you asked me before the game if I would rather be in the competition or out of it, I’m obviously going to say I want to be in.”

National League Aldershot held League Two leaders Stockport to a 2-2 draw at the EBB Stadium to earn an Emirates FA Cup replay.

The hosts almost had the perfect start after a minute when Jack Barham forced keeper Ben Hinchliffe to save with his foot.

The Vanarama National League outfit took the lead after 10 minutes when a shot by Josh Stokes deflected off Macauley Southam-Hales and into the net.

Stockport hit back two minutes later when Neill Byrne made his way past the home defence from the half-way line, and delivered an excellent strike from 25 yards.

The Sky Bet League Two leaders came out strongly in the second half and took the lead a minute after the restart – Paddy Madden finishing off a move involving Southam-Hales and Nick Powell.

The hosts responded on 67 minutes when Stokes finished off an excellent counter-attack from a Lorent Tolaj pass.

Stockport were almost victorious in injury time, when a Fraser Horsfall header hit the post, but both sides must play again to decide who faces West Brom.