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Riath Al-Samarrai at Daily Mail |
Fulham (1) 4-1 (0) Hull City FAC Rnd04
A turncoat, a teenager and a substitute goalkeeper got together and slapped the troubled souls of Hull City out of the FA Cup. To look at Marco Silva in the immediate aftermath, there was a chance he might just throw in a kick or two for good measure.
What a shambolic, humiliating way for a Premier League club to exit the competition, picked apart by the 11th ranked side in the Championship and given the sort of lesson that could reoccur in the second tier next season. Silva was visibly angry, even if a Cup run was low on his agenda.
And yet this bizarre, brilliant match wasn’t nearly so much about Hull and their aspirations as Fulham and their many fascinating narratives.
There was Chris Martin, who desperately wants to end his loan at Craven Cottage and go back to his parent club Derby County.
What a compelling mess, with the striker having remotely signed a new deal at County on Saturday and then stated his plan was to return ‘as soon as possible’.
Fulham are not budging and told him he is stuck here until the end of the season, despite his previous agitations to leave.
He was given his share of boos early on, but it was he who put Fulham 2-1 ahead in the second half after Hull’s Evandro had cancelled out Sone Aluko’s opener.
From there it was about Ryan Sessegnon, a 16-year-old who is already the Football League’s youngest ever scorer and the boy who made it 3-1 here. He is wanted by Chelsea and Tottenham, among others, and showed precisely what the hype is about.
He plays at left-back but could just as easily be a flying winger given his speed, trickery and delightful desire to run at players.
Stefan Johansen made it 4-1 before Hull’s final indignity, which was Abel Hernandez having two penalties saved in two minutes late on by stand-in goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.
A glorious day for the underdog; a stinker for bigger boys everywhere.
Slavisa Jokanovic was ecstatic, particularly in discussing Sessegnon’s contribution. He said: ‘This kid is working hard, and he is in the right place.
It is 100 per cent this player is going to be at the highest level soon, and I hope I’m going to enjoy working with him in the squad for a long time. But in this business you never know what is going to happen.’
That uncertainty has been illustrated by the Martin saga. Fulham’s manager reiterated his position that Martin will not be allowed to leave, saying: ‘He signed a new contract, which is great news for himself and his family.
His highest contract, probably. But it doesn’t change his situation with us. He is going to stay.
‘I do understand why Derby would want this player (back). They believe one of their best strikers is in our dressing room. I believe the same.’
Indeed, Martin was excellent here. Interestingly, he also turned the supporters in his favour after assisting Sessegnon’s goal, so maybe there will be a happy ending after all.
For Hull, who had won three of Silva’s first five games before this one, the outlook is rather bleak. Aside from the scoreline and performance, they also lost Curtis Davis inside 10 minutes to a hamstring strain, stripping the Premier League’s thinnest squad even further.
Silva said: ‘It’s not a good day for us. Now we need three or four new players in the next few days. If we want to stay in the Premier League, we need more quality in.’
With the Cup now gone, that is the best they can hope for.
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