(Football news) In the third round, the Cottagers needed just one goal to defeat Rotherham United, while Eddie Howe’s team easily defeated Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland with three goals.
The writing was not on the wall for Fulham going into Wednesday’s second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, even though they lost a one-goal lead to comeback kings Liverpool in the first leg. However, Luis Diaz’s deflected strike made the Cottagers’ uphill climb that much harder.
Fulham number one Bernd Leno would not have wanted to watch Diaz’s goal back – the ex-Arsenal man ought to have done much better at his near post – but an erstwhile Liverpool attacker briefly got his goalkeeper out of jail in the second period, as Harry Wilson set up Issa Diop for the hosts’ equaliser on the night.
Another 15 minutes was not enough for Marco Silva’s team to force an additional 30, though, as they missed out on an all-West London final with Chelsea next month, but the Cottagers – still without a major trophy in their 145-year history – remain in contention for FA Cup stardom.
A strong XI made hard work of their third-round tie with a defence-heavy Rotherham crop, although Bobby Decordova-Reid’s first-half strike sufficed as Fulham reached the fourth round for the fifth year running, but they have only progressed from one of their past four ties at this stage.
That triumph did come in the 2022-23 campaign, where they were eliminated in a fiery quarter-final with Manchester United after a fourth-round beating of Sunderland, who coincidentally fell to the supremacy of Saturday’s visitors to Craven Cottage in this season’s third phase.
