Once again Leeds had nothing to show for a fine performance after failing to convert a number of chances, and it is Fulham who go through to the 6th round of the FA Cup thanks to two fabulous goals of their own.

Before the game Javi Gracia pledged his love for the FA Cup, having reached the final in his only previous attempt at the competition, and with several big teams already out this might have been an opportunity to bring a bit of glamour to an otherwise grim season. We did of course have our umpteenth away draw in succession, but home advantage for Fulham was pretty much cancelled out by the huge Leeds following, who outshouted the home fans for the entire 90 minutes.

There were four changes to the starting line-up, one of which might have down to Wöber feeling some discomfort from his dislocated shoulder, as he wasn’t in the matchday squad at all. The other three dropped to the bench have all had their critics in recent weeks. The shortage of central defenders meant that Kristensen had to be drafted into that role, which was concerning as Mitrovic returned for the hosts, but the big Serb was kept fairly quiet for most of the game.

Right from the start Leeds created most of the chances, but the first went begging when McKennie worked his way into space but overhit a through ball to Summerville, which gave Rodak the chance to race off his line and make the save. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be the last time that McKennie’s final ball was overhit and led to a good opportunity being wasted.

A few minutes later Roca’s corner was headed goalwards by McKennie and Rutter moved in quickly to knock the ball over the line following Rodak’s save, but the referee had already blown for a push on Wilson by McKennie. It was a bit soft, and we would probably have got away with it if the referee hadn’t been so close to the incident.

And after all our good work it was Fulham who took the lead in the 21st minute, with their first shot of the game. Adams won the ball on the right but Roca failed to anticipate his pass, and nipped in to get the ball first. What followed was a superb finish by the Portuguese, curling his shot round the players between him and the goal, and it beat Meslier’s dive to go in off the post.

Shortly afterwards the ball came to Roca a similar distance from goal, but firm drive was a little too close to Rodak and the keeper was able to make a fairly comfortable save. Then we had the ball in the net for a second time, but again our effort was disallowed. Rodak could only palm Kristensen’s fierce shot from 30 yards out to Gnonto, but the Italian was a good few yards offside as he knocked the ball over the line.

But still we kept coming. Gonto’s cross from the left was behind Rutter, but the Frenchman did very well to twist and send a looping header towards the far post. Rodak was well beaten, but the ball came back of the post and stayed out. From the rebound Gnonto sent the ball back into the area, but this time Rutter saw it late as it came through a crowd of players, so couldn’t get the touch he needed.

And we continued to dominate possession in the second half, though the next opportunity came on the break. Rutter curled a pass between two defenders to set Gnonto clear, and the Italian hit the shot well but a little too close to Rodak, and the keeper was able to make the save as the ball came across him.

Then Summerville raced down the wing to catch up with the ball before it went behind, and from his cross Rutter did well to work an opening, but couldn’t get any power in the shot that he curled towards the far corner. But once again Fulham were to demonstrate that it is quality in the final third that matters, with their second excellent finish of the night.

Solomon picked up the ball on the Fulham left and exchanged passes with Mitrovic, before curling a shot round Meslier and into the far corner. That prompted Gracia to make a couple of changes in an attempt to get back into the game, with Rutter and Gnonto replaced by Bamford and Harrison. It was a lively performance from the Frenchman, but another frustrating game for Gnonto, who again found the opposition very quick to close him down.

A few minutes later our third and final change saw the ineffectual Roca replaced by Aaronson. The substitutes were quick to make their presence felt, as Harrison crossed, but Aaronson could only send his shot past the post. Then it was Fulham’s turn to have a goal disallowed, as Mitrovic headed into the net from a cross, but he was a couple of yards offside. A 3-0 scoreline would have been very harsh on Leeds.

As time began to run out Aaronson played Harrison in down the left, and his cross led to a goalmouth scramble, with McKennie, Aaronson and Summerville all having shots blocked, before it eluded Bamford to go out for a goal kick. In the closing stages McKennie shot wide and Ayling had a shot cleared off the line, as if we didn’t know already that it just wasn’t going to be our night in front of goal.

And so we have the proverbial ‘free to concentrate on the league’ In many ways this was an encouraging performance despite the result, as the new head coach has got us looking a lot more organised, but we’ve got to find a way of making it count. We now know that if we had got through we would have had yet another away tie, this time at Old Trafford. Which would have been fun, but very difficult on the pitch.

So let’s hope that next year we actually get the luxury of a home tie or two, and that when it comes around we are still a Premier League side and clear of trouble, so we can have a proper go at this wonderful competition.

Reuters

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