Stoke boss Mark Hughes believes the quality Ibrahim Afellay demonstrated in the Capital One Cup quarter-final victory over Sheffield Wednesday should have come as no surprise to anyone.

Afellay has been struggling to live up to the excitement that had been generated among Potters fans by his signing over the summer.

The 29-year-old Holland international and ex-Barcelona player was sent off in only his fourth game for Stoke and failed to regain a starting place in the Barclays Premier League thereafter.

But having been handed a start against Wednesday in the cup tie at the Britannia Stadium, he registered his first Stoke goal in fine style with a delightfully-executed volley on the half-hour mark.

And Hughes said of Afellay: "I thought he played really well - arguably one of his best games since he has come to the club.

"But he is a quality player. You look at his CV and he is a player of talent.

"So we shouldn't be surprised when he is able to score a goal like that. It was a great strike."

Stoke wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 victory over their Sky Bet Championship visitors on Tuesday thanks to substitute Phil Bardsley's 75th-minute strike.

Hughes was particularly pleased a semi-final spot - the club's first in the League Cup since they won the trophy in 1972 - could be sealed despite him making a significant number of changes.

The starting XI showed five adjustments, with the likes of Peter Crouch, Marco van Ginkel and Marc Wilson joining Afellay in making rare starts, while Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri were among those afforded a rest.

When Crouch came off due to a hamstring injury in only the 13th minute, his replacement Joselu went on to produce a decent performance that included teeing up Afellay's goal.

Bardsley too made an impact from the bench and former Stoke defender Denis Smith believes the current squad is better than the one he was part of that secured the 1972 League Cup.

Hughes added: "I think this showed how strong the squad is.

"Everyone is pushing in the right direction and when I do make changes, guys can come in and make and impression like they did here.

"That is really encouraging from my point of view - that they are training well and correctly, and allowing themselves to make an impact when called upon."

Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal concurred that his side - who had beaten Newcastle and Arsenal in the previous two rounds - had been eliminated by a very strong group of players.

"We go out of the competition without shame," Carvalhal said.

"We did very well in this competition and when we finished this game, we knew we had lost to a strong team.

"They have a lot of players who have won the Champions League - I think four or five. They have a very strong squad.

"We give congratulations to our opponent and now think about our future."