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James Andrew at Daily Mail |
Fulham (0) 0-1 (1) Stoke
Peter Crouch scored his first goal of the season as Stoke finally won a game inside 90 minutes.
Crouch's goal booked Stoke's place in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup which provided some joy to manager Mark Hughes after their winless start to the Premier League season.
Stoke's only joy this season came via penalties against League Two Luton Town in the previous round and for much of the 90 minutes this was an instantly forgettable cup tie, but Fulham set up a grand stand finish and could have forced extra time but for an excellent save by Shay Given to deny Lasse Vigen Christiansen.
But Mark Hughes hopes this win will have a positive effect of their league form.
He said: 'We had to defend in the final ten minutes we had to defend correctly and Shay Given came to the fore, but on the balance of play I think we deserved to go through.
'Our league form has been a little bit frustrating, we have done ok, but we don't think we have got the points we think we deserve, but that will put us in a positive frame of mind.'
Fulham - who have had a mixed start to the Championship season - had more of the ball in the opening 20 minutes without creating any clear chances and it was Stoke striker Peter Odemwingie who had the first attempt on goal.
Stephen Ireland and Crouch combined well on the edge of the area to set up Odemwingie, who fired just wide of the left post.
The chance sparked the visitors to life and the goal came just after the half hour mark.
Crouch played a neat one-two with Peter Odemwingie and the former England striker slotted the ball past Joe Lewis from close range.
And Hughes believes the goal will do him the world of good.
He added: 'Pete struggled in pre season. He had an operation that didn't go as planned and set him back. Only now he's getting up to speed. It was important he got game time and did really well.
'It was a good finish and he will start to progress his season from here I'm sure.'
Fulham struggled to break down their Premier League opponents and were restricted to pot shots from distance for much of the game.
But in the final 10 minutes Ben Pringle crossed for Ross McCormack who was unable to get a proper connection on the ball.
Christiansen then almost forced extra time with a header that look to have beaten Given but the keeper clawed the ball to safety and then Burn curled the ball on to the bar right at the death.
Fulham manager Kit Symons was pleased with his side's performance, especially in the second half.
He said: 'I thought we showed them too much respect in the first half and I told them to have a go.
'I hate losing, but if you are going to lose then you might as well lose in a way where you are having a go and I think we did that in the second half.'
Fulham - who have had a mixed start to the Championship season - had more of the ball in the opening 20minutes without creating any clear chances and it was Stoke striker Peter Odemwingie who had the first attempt on goal.
Stephen Ireland and Crouch combined well on the edge of the area to set up Odemwingie, who fired just wide of the left post.
That chance seemed to spark the game to life and Ben Pringle released Ross McCormack down the left wing and he whipped in a cross for Cauley Woodrow who was unable to keep his header on target under pressure from Phillipp Wollscheid.
Stoke's class finally told when they took the lead just after the half hour mark through the former England striker.
Crouch picked up the ball midway inside the Fulham half and played a neat one-two with Odemwingie before going through to slot the ball past Joe Lewis.
Fulham did their best to get back into the game at the start of the second half but were restricted to a shot from distance from Pringle and a McCormack free kick that deflected off the wall.
But they came to life later in the half when they had two good chances to get themselves back into the game, first when when Pringle fired in a low cross but McCormack was unable to make any real contact with the ball and Shay Given collected.
And then Ryan Tunnicliffe headed the ball into the path of fellow substitute Moussa Dembele - but the striker fired over the bar.
Odemwingie should have wrapped things up in the final 10 minutes when Marko Arnutovic went on a driving run and played through the Nigerian striker and he tried to chip the ball over Lewis but managed to send the ball over the bar.
Lasse Vigen Christiansen then tried a speculative lob from 35 yards with Given off his line - but the ball went just wide - much to the relief of the Stoke keeper.
Given then made up for his error with a spectacular save in injury time to deny Christiansen's header at the back post before Dan Burn hit the bar with seconds remaining after a scramble in the box.
Hughes' side hung one for a hard earned win and will hope a cup run can kick start their season.
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