Fulham lost their first game in 5 outings as Southampton ran out victors by a solitary goal at Craven Cottage in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. James Ward Prowse’s 30th-minute goal was enough to send the Saints through to the 4th round in what turned out to be a drab afternoon with both sides failing to spark any excitement.
Fulham actually were the better side in the initial stages, pressing Soton high up the pitch and going forward when they could. Long blasted the ball past Button in the 15th minute but was flagged for offside. Chances were at a premium and a defensive mix-up led to the goal when the ball deflected off McDonald into Ward Prowse’s path who steered it in from 7 yards. The half ended without much action. The second half was pretty much the same with Jack Stephens coming closest to scoring when he hit the crossbar, squandering a sitter. Piazon should’ve levelled it for the Cottagers but missed at the far post.
Fulham lacked the cutting edge to equalize as their pressure on the Saints amounted to nothing in the final stages and must now look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Boro.
Here are the ratings for the Fulham players.
David Button- 6.5/10
Didn’t have much to do, except one good save. Could do nothing for the goal.
Ryan Fredericks- 6/10
Had a tricky opponent in Boufal and coped well. Got forward occasionally.
Tomas Kalas- 5.5/10
Struggled to deal with higher calibre opponents, especially Long.
Tim Ream- 7/10
Was involved in the mixup for the goal, but was solid otherwise throughout the game. His composure on the ball was impressive as well.
Denis Odoi- 6.5/10
Excellent in the air, and solid overall.
Oliver Norwood- 5/10
Good in the first half, as he kept the ball moving. Too many sloppy passes in the second half, however.
Kevin McDonald- 4/10
Overrun in the middle, and was unlucky to have the ball deflected off him for the Southampton goal. Sacrificed around the hour mark as Fulham looked for an equalizer.
Stefan Johansen- 5/10
Like most of his teammates started the game well but became sloppy and faded away in the second half.
Lucas Piazon- 7/10
The man on loan from Chelsea was arguably Fulham’s best player, linking the defence to attack. Spurned a glorious chance in the second half though.
Rui Fonte- 6.5/10
Worked hard and made some decent runs in behind the Soton defence, but wasn’t picked out by his teammates.
Ryan Sessegnon- 6.5/10
The real threat in the first half as his movements caused problems, even got the ball in dangerous positions a couple of times. Completely subdued in the second half.
Substitutes
Neeskens Kebano (Kevin McDonald 56’) – 4.5/10
Culpable for losing possession in promising positions multiple times.
Oluwaseyi Ojo (Tomas Kalas 66’) – 5.5/10
Tried hard to get his team back in the game but struggled to get into the game.
Aboubakar Kamara (Rui Fonte 76’) – 4.5/10
Uneventful cameo bar one horribly miscued pass as Fulham looked to break.
