STOKE'S season burst back into life after a pick-me-up from Rory Delap's controversial dismissal of all things.

They were rocking after a shaky start – not least with Delap's 17th-minute red card – but the sending off merely galvanised a team which had previously been threatening to take Crawley too lightly.

What followed was a tremendously professional response to a minor crisis as Stoke eventually swept aside Sussex opposition for a second season running in the fifth round following their disposal of Brighton 12 months earlier.

A Jon Walters penalty and a Peter Crouch header either side of half-time provided the finishing touches to a workmanlike performance which had offered Crawley precious little encouragement once Stoke were in front.

Delap was dismissed after making enough contact with full-back David Hunt – at least in the eyes of fourth official Lee Probert after he influenced the referee's decision – to leave the crestfallen Stoke midfielder making the short walk down the nearby tunnel.

The red card appeared harsh after Delap had thundered in forthright, but not with malice aforethought, and appeared to go in with one foot, not both.

It was one of those that leaves you thinking 'it's a good job he made contact', but perhaps that isn't enough to save players these days.

With Hunt going to ground and making sure he stayed there, coupled with Crawley boss Steve Evans shouting the odds from just 10 yards away and the fourth official also chipping in, the referee appeared pressured into brandishing red.

But at least Delap's early exit armed Stoke with an angry sense of injustice with which to combat Crawley's predictably lively start in front of their optimistic home faithful.

The visitors had started the tie second best, not least when a right-wing corner caught Asmir Begovic in a flap with two of his defenders.

The Stoke keeper had called for the ball, but a collective failure to deal with the near-post delivery left it cannoning off a startled Peter Crouch and against the underside of the bar before being scrambled clear.

Stoke, showing six changes from Thursday's defeat by Valencia, had responded with an early Walters effort past the far stick, but otherwise the visitors were looking worryingly second fiddle when it was 11 against 11.

And so when Delap was sent packing, City's prospects were looking distinctly dim.

They were to gather themselves remarkably well in the circumstances, however, and were starting to paper over the cracks left by their team-mate's departure by the time Cameron Jerome swept across goal and just past the far stick in the 29th minute.

And then, in seemingly innocuous circumstances inside a crowded area, Crawley midfielder Kyle McFadzean appeared to mis-time his attempted challenge to leave Ryan Shawcross sprawling on the turf.

A penalty was immediately awarded, amid few protests from the home side, and Walters brushed aside the memory of his last miss – against West Brom last month – to deposit an unstoppable shot low into the keeper's right-hand corner.

More typical of Crawley's later first-half efforts then followed as Tyrone Barnett admirably nicked the ball around Matthew Upson, but then pulled a disappointing shot comfortably wide of the far post.

Jerome wasted a decent opportunity by shooting poorly from distance soon after the restart, but at least it was an encouraging sign of Stoke's apparent intention to continue brushing off that numerical disadvantage.

Jerome was to play a significant role in City doubling their lead, too, after his vibrancy down the left channel forced Claude Davis to wrestle him to the floor for a yellow card.

Glenn Whelan then flighted the subsequent free-kick towards the far stick for Crouch to out-jump the last defender and curl his header inside the opposite post.

The atmosphere within Crawley's tightly-packed ground was forgivably muted, bar the visiting fans, and the home crowd's mood would have darkened further had either Crouch or Jerome managed to connect with Whelan's inviting corner on the hour.

Crawley could derive hope from the clock, but not the kind of shooting which saw substitute Scott Neilsen blaze over and into the mocking Stoke fans behind Begovic's goal.

Stoke, with four current and three past internationals still on the pitch, were bringing such experience to bear to take a breather and run the clock down whenever possible.

Crawley were still able to produce the kind of scare inflicted in the 66th minute, however, when Barnett's first-time effort was deflected narrowly off target.

And Begovic's handling was tested shortly after when he was sent sprawling to his left to safely gather Dean Howell's grub-hunting free-kick.

Rene Gilmartin was in far more discomfort at the other end, meanwhile, after a goalward stab from Walters, coupled with Shawcross waving a boot, left the Crawley keeper pawing at thin air before the ball was smuggled away.

Danny Collins nearly marred his first start in a Stoke shirt this season by sloppily losing possession inside the Crawley half, but the subsequent break upfield ended with Begovic diving smartly to collect Sanchez Watt's low drive.

Whelan lost the ball in midfield to become the architect of Crawley's next attack as fatigue was possibly creeping into the Stoke ranks approaching the final 10 minutes.

Decent pressure was being exerted on Stoke's retreating numbers by the time Andy Wilkinson replaced Jerome to fortify City's defences for the final furlong.

Crawley's last chance of salvation came and went at the start of three minutes of additional time when Sergio Torres typified his side's shooting by comfortably missing the bullseye.

Another minor goalmouth scuffle followed, but Stoke's 10 men were already home and dry.