Cottagers move past Canaries and into Fourth Round

Fulham made sure of their place in The FA Cup Fourth Round on Tuesday night, courtesy of a convincing victory over Norwich City at Craven Cottage.

Rene Meulensteen’s men were perhaps fortunate to have a second chance to beat their Premier League rivals following a 1-1 draw in the first tie at Carrow Road ten days ago.

There were no such problems on the banks of the Thames in the replay, as a dominant display from Fulham  saw them set up a trip to Sheffield United in the next round later this month.

Goals from Darren Bent, Ashkan Dejagah and Steve Sidwell proved enough on the night in a confident display which Meulensteen will be hoping can carry over into their Premier League form.

That wasn’t the case in the opening exchanges though, with Norwich making a bright start to the game right from the kick-off.

They almost edged ahead within three minutes when Marten Stekelenburg saved smartly with his feet to deny Nathan Redmond in the box, after Josh Murphy had skilfully played him in behind the last defender.

His shot was well blocked by the Dutchman but when ball ricocheted out of the box, it was worked back to Robert Snodgrass whose powerful shot from 25 yards cannoned back off the bar with Stekelenburg beaten.

But after riding their luck in those early stages, Fulham worked their way back into the game and took the lead when Pajtim Kasami drilled a low cross back into the area.

Bent celebrates Fulham's opener.

Dejagah’s dummy fooled the first defender and when the ball rolled into the path of Bent, he made no mistake by drilling a low shot past Mark Bunn.

The goal brought Fulham to life, giving them a shot of confidence that has perhaps been lacking in recent weeks.

Alex Kacaniklic and Kieran Richardson began to link up more frequently on the left flank, whilst the midfield trio of Sidwell, Kasami and Giorgios Karagounis were dominating their visitors in the middle.

So it came as no surprise when Fulham doubled their lead five minutes before the break, with Karagounis the initial architect by showcasing his vision from centre-field.

His fine pass picked out Kacaniklic on the right flank and the Swede instantly slid a low cross into the middle, where Dejagah had timed his run to perfection to smash home from close range.

Chris Hughton responded at the break, with Ricky Van Wolfswinkel replacing Redmond to partner Johan Elmander up front.

And they made a bright start to the second half, enjoying plenty of the ball and opportunities to pressure their hosts.

But despite their possession, Stekelenburg was never really tested and Fulham secured their win with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Dejagah celebrates his goal, which put Fulham 2-0 up.

A last-gasp clearance from another Kacaniklic cross by Javier Garrido appeared to have cleared the danger following an incisive break. But when Sascha Riether returned a perfect cross to the far post, Sidwell was there to power home a header.

With their place in the Fourth Round secure, Fulham fans even had the chance to enjoy a bit of name nostalgia with the introduction of Moussa Dembele, not the former Cottage favourite and current Spurs midfielder, but a 17-year-old French striker who is already proving a crowd favourite.

With their victory secure, Fulham comfortably saw out the game and will now be able to turn their attentions to a tricky, but undoubtably winnable tie at Bramall Lane on 26 January.

Fulham: 1 Marten Stekelenburg, 5 Brede Hangeland (c), 7 Steve Sidwell (37 Lasse Vigen Christensen, 84), 8 Pajtim Kasami, 11 Alex Kacaniklic (43 Muamer Tankovic, 87), 14 Giorgios Karagounis, 15 Kieran Richardson, 24 Ashkan Dejagah, 27 Sascha Riether, 33 Dan Burn, 39 Darren Bent (45 Moussa Dembele, 79).
Substitutes not used: 13 David Stockdale, 18 Aaron Hughes, 20 Hugo Rodallega, 32 Clint Dempsey.

Head Coach: Rene Meulensteen.

Goals: Darren Bent (17) Ashkan Dejagah (41), Steve Sidwell (68).

Norwich City: 13 Mark Bunn, 2 Russell Martin, 3 Steven Whittaker, 4 Bradley Johnson, 5 Sebastien Bassong (c), 7 Robert Snodgrass, 16 Johann Elmander (19 Luciano Becchio, 68), 18 Javier Garrido, 22 Nathan Redmond (,9 Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, 46), 25 David Fox, 31 Josh Murphy.
Substitutes not used: 1 John Ruddy, 10 Leroy Fer, 14 Wes Hoolahan, 24 Ryan Bennett, 32 Jacob Murphy.

Manager: Chris Hughton

Referee: Lee Mason
Assistant referee: M. Mullarkey & D. Bryan
Fourth official: P. Dowd.