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Tom Moore at GetWestLondon |
Fulham (1) 3-2 (2) Wigan Athletic
Fulham's FA Cup run came to an end following a 3-0 fifth-round defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage.
A Harry Kane hat-trick left Slavisa Jokanovic's men helpless against the Premier League giants and unable to conjure a repeat of 2011's 4-0 win when they knocked Spurs out of the competition.
While the Whites fought until the end, Spurs dominated the game with their pace and quick thinking.
Here are five talking points to emerge from the defeat.
No need to be downheartened
Fulham are a play-off contender in the Championship, while Tottenham are one of the best teams in England.
The gap between the sides was evident for 90 minutes but the Whites did not disgrace themselves by any means.
Slavisa Jokanovic stuck to his principles and the home side played the football that has won them many admirers throughout the season.
However Tottenham, who played Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen among others, were simply too good for them and didn't allow the Championship side a sniff, while punishing any slip or misplaced pass.
Fulham caught out by Tottenham's pace
Harry Kane's opener came from a brilliant piece of quick-thinking by Kieran Trippier. After winning a throw in, the full back took it quickly to Eriksen.
This caught left back Scott Malone out and gave the Dane acres of space to run inside Fulham's back line.
Tomas Kalas was also surprised by the speed of Trippier's throw and left Kane acres of space. You can't give the England international that much freedom and he punished the Whites for switching off at a crucial moment.
Spurs pressing limits Fulham
The home side were denied time on the ball, in part because of the intensity of Spurs' pressing. The Lilywhites had 10 men in the Fulham half at times and did not give the conductor, Tom Cairney any space to get into the game.
Mauricio Pochettino had clearly done his homework on Slavisa Jokanovic's side and limited the Whites when they looked to press forward.
Championship sides may try and repeat that strategy but they won't have the skill to do so.
Tough officiating
Harry Kane looked as if he was offside for his second but it turns out he was onside by millimetres.
Tim Ream's back foot was the line us for offside and, although Kane's hand, was offside, he head or any part of the body he could score from wasn't.
With the demand for technology in the game increasing, it would give assistant referees help and, maybe, it will highlight the good decisions officials make.
Old boys appreciation society
The Fulham captain remains a popular figure with Spurs supporters and, when the midfielder came off the bench, both fans gave him a rapturous reception.
Indeed, both sets of fans started singing his name but it was the Tottenham supporters who initiated the chorus.
Parker, of course, is a class act and is fully deserving of the appreciation and football will be worse off when he decides to hang up his boots.
Mousa Dembele was given the same treatment when he came off the bench for Spurs with Whites fans singing his name.
Source .