League Cup - Tuesday 17th September 2024, 7:45 PM
Preston1
(1)
-
(0)
1
Fulham
Attendance: 5530
Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Match events
17
Diop (f)
Ledson
35
61
Nelson
Hughes
61
Baue
61
Greenwood
68
Jensen
68
McCann
68
Thordarson
68
77
Smith Rowe
77
Reed
77
Iwobi
77
Wilson
Whiteman
82
Holmes
82
Okkels
83
Bowler
83
85
Godo
85
Cairney
85
Jimenez
85
Nelson
85
Muniz
95
Lukic
Match review
Match Report
Preston North End (1) 1-1 (0) Fulham
Preston North End win 16-15 on penalties.
League Cup Round 03 24/25 at Deepdale
Tuesday 17th September KO: 19:45
Referee:
Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports+
|
Fulham boss Marco Silva named a new Starting Xl for Fulham's Tuesday night cup tie, making 11 changes to the side that drew with West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Most notably, a full debut start for Reiss Nelson, having made his first appearance in a Fulham shirt at the weekend from the bench.
An uncharacteristic warm afternoon shone over the Deepdale, slowly turning into a cool night under the lights in the Carabao Cup Third Round.
Showcasing our nostalgic red and black away strip for the first time this season, Fulham dominated possession for the majority of the 90 minutes. Against the run of play, Preston took the lead in the 35th minute, soon to be cancelled out by Reiss Nelson's first goal for The Club in the 61st. But despite their best efforts Fulham's Carabao Cup journey ended after a record breaking penalty shootout.
Noise from the traveling Fulham fans filled the stadium as Preston North End kicked off the third round of the tournament.
A slow start for both teams, Fulham soon started to dominate possession in the middle of the pitch with neither side breaking through on goal.
| Match Stats |
Preston |
Fulham |
| Goals |
(1) 1 |
1 (0) |
|
(Pens 16-15) |
|
| Scorers |
Ledson 35 |
Nelson 61 |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
7 |
16 |
| On target |
4 |
6 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
57% |
38% |
| Possession |
29% |
71% |
| Passes Success |
72% |
88% |
| Corners |
4 |
10 |
| Tackles Success |
73% |
73% |
| Saves |
5 |
3 |
| Fouls |
10 |
7 |
| Offsides |
3 |
0 |
| Yellows |
0 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
But as the temperature air cooled, the heat rose on the pitch as Kaine Kesler-Hayden's headed shot from six-yards across goal was denied by a firm outstretched hand of Steven Benda.
Moments later it was Fulham’s turn to make an impact as Harrison Reed fired the ball towards goal for his shot to be blocked by Preston’s defence.
The near miss seemed to fuel the players as shot after shot started to pepper Preston’s box, each one stopped by the host's backline.
Reiss Nelson continued to impress on his full debut, trying to break down the defence. In a quick one-two, Tom Cairney's cheeky backheel found Nelson, running across the edge of the box and shooting low towards goal, but any chance of celebration was thwarted by Preston's goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman.
Despite Fulham’s best efforts to break the deadlock, it was Preston who gained the advantage. A defensive clearance fell to Captain Ryan Ledson outside the box, he quickly drove the ball low into the bottom left corner of the goal in the 35th minute to give the hosts the lead.
As the referee brought the first half to a close, Fulham left the pitch frustrated after dominating possession.
Fulham made the most of the reset, walking into the second half with vengeance.
The game soon turned into and end-to-end battle as both teams teased an early second half goal.
Our equaliser almost came after a magnificent freekick saw Harrison Reed loop the ball over the defence, hitting the wrong side of the crossbar and rebounding back into play. Falling kindly to Rodrigo Muniz in the six-yard box, his headed effort from close range parried back into play and was soon cleared by the defence.
Fulham’s pace continued to pick up, working the ball down the left wing. Just as remenicent as the shirt on his back, Ryan Sessegnon's movement down the flank was like he never left. Racing into the box and cutting the ball back across goal for Reiss Nelson to place into the back of the net from close range, solidfying his excellent full debut for The Club and keeping Fulham firmly in the game.
The intense battle continued between the two teams, but after seven minutes of added time, a winning goal could not be found. The referee blows the whistle marking the end of the 90 minutes and readying the teams for penalties.
The game was decided with a historic penalty shootout.
With 34 penalties taken from the spot and 31 scored, the monumental shootout was the longest in league cup history, ending with Preston scoring 16 and Fulham 15.
Raúl Jiménez started the shootout, firing the ball calmly into the bottom left corner. The goals continued to fly in from both teams until Jorge Cuenca's effort was saved by Woodman.
It was Preston's to win if they scored but Steven Benda threw himself at the ball, saving the shot and keeping Fulham in the shootout.
The goals continued to hit the back of the net until it was time for the goalkeeper stand off. Steven Benda was up first, staring down his opponenent before firing the ball past him. He then swapped with Woodman who's shot also went in.
The penalties then restarted with Raúl once more and goal after goal continued to find it's way past the goalkeepers until Timothy Castagne's second penalty hit the crossbar.
It was then up to Ryan Ledson to put the game to bed, succeeding in doing so and sending Preston through to the next round of the Carabao Cup and sadly ending our campaign.
A difficult way to leave the tournament but a real fight from Fulham until the end.
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
"I think [Ryan Sessegnon] is improving. He is getting better. It was a very good game from him. From the first minute until the last minute, he kept composure. Always up and down [the pitch]. Strong defensively and, of course, we know he is capable of being decisive with quality.
"It was not just the goal. Most of the chances we created came from his decisions in attack and of course we have to be pleased for him.
"He's going to be a really useful player for us. He already is but he's going to be better and better. It's important for him to get the right confidence because we all know the qualities that he has."
On the game, Silva added: "From the first minute, we took control of the game and I think we did create enough chances to score more goals. That is the situation."
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom:
"As it wore on, eight-all, nine-all, it made me more determined to win it because of the effort and commitment put in to get to penalties.
"We were the team, certainly in injury time, trying to get the game to penalties.
"I've never been involved in a shoot-out like that. I've been told it's the longest in the competition as well. It was a great atmosphere. We'll look forward to the draw but we have to park it, we have other things to focus on now."
On the game itself, Heckingbottom added: "They had their moments. Freddie (Woodman) was very good again but the team in front of him protected him really well again. Three times in the first half it was the last-ditch defending but we had our moments as well.
"Second half, we had less and less as the game wore on. Fulham, they were great on the ball and caused us problems, but we were set up to deal with it."
Preston North End: Woodman, Storey, Bauer (Hughes 61), Lindsay, Kesler-Hayden, Bowler (Okkels 83), Thordarson (McCann 68), Ledson, Holmes (Whiteman 82), Frokjaer-Jensen (Greenwood 68), Osmajic
Unused substitutes: Whatmough, Riis, Cornell, Stewart
Goals:
Ledson 35 (right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner.)
Fulham: Benda, Castagne, Diop, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed (Smith Rowe 77), Berge, Wilson (Iwobi 77), Cairney (Godo 85), Nelson (Jimenez 85), Muniz (Lukic 95)
Unused substitutes: Leno, Tete, Bassey, King
Goals:
Nelson 61 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Sessegnon.)
Booked: Diop (17,f)
Referee:
Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Attendance: 5,530
Fulham are next in action on Saturday at The Cottage against Newcastle United in the Premier League.
br/>