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Paul Warburton at GetWestLondon |
Cardiff City (1) 1-2 (2) Fulham
Fulham had a comfortable Sunday morning in Cardiff to ease their way into the fourth round.
Goals from Stefan Johansen and Ryan Sessegnon snuffed out a lucky early lead for the hosts.
From then it became a passing exercise for Whites, with little to trouble recalled keeper Marcus Bettinelli.
Anthony Pilkington got lucky when his free-kick took a right-turn deflection off Lucas Piazon's back to put Cardiff ahead on eight minutes.
It proved a false dawn when right winger, Ryan Fredericks, that's correct, had far too much pace for Joe Bennett when he cut back for birthday boy Stefan Johansen to clatter the roof of the net.
Again converted right-back Fredericks skinned Bennett and this time Tom Cairney hit the bar for Ryan Sessegnon to tap home at the far post.
Bettinelli showed he had lost none of his spring when he went full-length right to parry away Joe Ralls's strike from outside the box.
Johansen picked the pocket of Murphy on 73 minutes to rob the keeper on the byline with only Sean Morrison getting back to spare the custodian's blushes.
Sone Aluko stung Murphy's fingers after a well-worked move, and former QPR boss Neal Warnock looked a forlorn figure in the Cardiff technical area by the end.
Fair play to Slavisa Jokanovic. Pace on the wings in the form of Sessegnon and Fredericks caused Cardiff all sorts of problems.
Shifting Fredericks to the wing and denying former Cardiff defender Scott Malone a return to his old stomping ground suggests the Serb had done his homework.
On the evidence of this, Fulham can get by without Chris Martin.
How comes players on thousands of pounds a week turn their back on free-kicks?
That's Lucas Piazon, should there be any doubt.
OK, it may be instinct. But all the same a ball in the face doesn't come off your shoulder to wrong foot the keeper and put Cardiff in the lead.
Facing the ball come what may, should be a prerequisite of any professional footballer.
'It was like a training session at times'
Former Fulham boss Kit Symons summed up for the BBC the way Fulham stroked the ball around in the first half, and it was more of the same in the second period.
Make no mistake, it doesn't get much easier.
Now all Fulham have to do is produce the same against Barnsley next Saturday
Passing like they do, Whites make mugs of sides who can't compete with the movement of the west Londoners.
It's been said already - but for the final time, 11.30am on a Sunday morning?
Which bright FA or TV executive thought this one up? The swathes of unfilled seats at the Cardiff City Stadium and the echoing cries from players, killed the atmosphere, despite the win: 5,199 for a third round FA Cup tie? It's pathetic.
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