An inspired display from Fulham’s Marcus Bettinelli ensured a replay will be required a week on Tuesday to settle this tie but it was the result neither team would have wanted. Wolves were by far the better team and would have recorded their first FA Cup victory in London since 1979 had it not been for the goalkeeper with an Italian-sounding name who was born in Camberwell and is the son of the club’s academy coach.
The 22-year-old, who has kept the Hungarian veteran Gabor Kiraly warming the bench for most of the season, produced two world-class saves either side of half-time, first to tip Bakary Sako’s strike on to the post before denying James Henry after the break.
Yet the story of the afternoon could have been very different had Leon Clarke taken advantage of an open goal on the rebound following Sako’s effort. The Manchester City loanee Seko Fofana almost made him pay in the final three minutes when he raced on to Scott Parker’s through ball but the Wolves goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, was equal to his rather tame effort.
“Marcus was excellent and made a couple of really good saves at important times,” Kit Symons, the Fulham manager, said. “He has been very good all season and since I took over I’ve been delighted with his development and the way he has conducted himself. He is an important part of our team and was ready when we needed him today.”
Fulham have seen their progress stall in recent weeks having at one stage looked in danger of successive relegations when they were beaten 1-0 by Wolves here in August. Before that, the last time Wolves visited Craven Cottage had been in March 2012 when they were thrashed 5-0 at the start of their rapid descent to League One.
Nearly three years on and Kenny Jackett has taken the club close to the playoff positions in the Championship courtesy of a five-match unbeaten run over the festive period. Whether they can maintain that lofty position may depend on how they replace Sako, who was playing in his last game before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali. He was a constant thorn in Fulham’s side with his direct approach and Jackett admitted they are bracing themselves for bids for a player whose contract expires at the end of the season.
“Every window there is constant speculation because he has been very consistent for us, in League One and in the Championship,” Jackett said. “Anybody would miss him. He’s very popular with the players and the fans but the plus side is the window is open so we have to look into what we can do now.”
For Fulham, this was a third game without a victory and Fofana’s late effort made it just three shots on target in that run. Having taken over from the mess left behind Felix Magath earlier in the season, Symons knows there is still plenty of hard work to do. “I’ll look at the bigger picture and it’s shaping up OK. It’s probably what I expected,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t always going to be sweetness and light but things will take time.”
.png?w=600)
