Fulham through in the Cup with comeback win against Middlesbrough

Wilson, Smith Rowe and Kevin earn 3-1 win at the Cottage

Marco Silva has won every 3rd round game he’s played in the FA Cup, and Fulham’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough ensures this record continues for another year. Hayden Hackney gave his side the lead in a difficult first half, but the quality from the bench ensured Fulham turned the game around - Wilson continued his fine scoring run with the equaliser, Cairney assisted Smith-Rowe beautifully to give us the lead, and Kevin scored his first goal for the club in stoppage time to plant Fulham into the next round. It’s another win for Fulham, against a side that may well be joining us in the Premier League next year, and whilst it took a bit of time to get going there’s plenty to be positive about in another win for Silva’s men.

First Half

A lot of Premier League teams, when drawn a lower-division opponent in a cup, shift into a lower gear to recuperate energy from top-flight exertions. The assumption is a common one - being the higher-ranked side, you’ll have the ability, depth and fitness to see off the lowly opponent, and by the end of the game progression will be secured. This is often the case, and plenty of results will demonstrate quite drastically the gulf between the summit of the game and those in the Football League. It’s not unfair to say Fulham started today’s match in this fashion, coasting through the early stages of the game at a gentle tempo.

On the face of it, this approach was playing out as expected. We had more of the ball, and played our usual routines, Sessegnon and Kevin overlapping on the left, Castagne advancing into attacking positions and combining with the pacey Traore on the right. But Middlesbrough, second in the Championship, aren’t a poor side, and weren’t particularly troubled by the pedestrian pace Fulham’s initial moves in the game had. Lukic dragging a Traore cross wide, Kevin thumping a rebounded Reed cross into Hackney’s chest and Kusi-Asare heading a decent Castagne cross straight to Brynn weren’t awful, but spaced out enough from each other allowed Middlesbrough to gain a foothold in the game, calm and composed in the face of our ball consolidation.

The visitors had an initial flash at goal when Silvera crossed a ball for Conway to strike, needing Lecomte to dive low to stop. It was a fluid formation - Conway and Whittaker as roaming strikers on the left and right, Silvera as an inverted right-winger, Gilbert floating between the left and an AM role and the tenacious Hackney charging from deeper in midfield to link up attacking moves. Smart on the ball, and positively minded, Middlesbrough didn’t look perturbed by facing us at all. After abating our possession-heavy start, they began putting their own moves together, working the ball around neatly. Whittaker played a smart ball through the lines to Silvera, darting into the box - Diop had to step across firmly to deny the shooting chance.

But the possession Middlesbrough were accumulating started to compound, and we were being pushed deeper into our half. When you string passes together, it builds momentum - watching Middlesbrough move through the pitch, it was clear they weren’t interested in playing as the “weaker side”. With the play concentrated in our final third, Targett at left-back played the ball centrally to Whittaker, whose clever one-touch pass put Hackney into an open left channel in the box. Whilst his cross was cleared by Kevin, our pieces were strewn across the pitch, and Middlesbrough had their feet on our throats. Whittaker retrieved the ball and played it to Brown, who combined with Morris to thread the ball through to Silvera on the right. The winger did brilliantly, using guile to nutmeg Sessegnon on the edge of the box and doing similar to Cuenca via his cross to Hackney, who had an easy tap in. It was humbling stuff for the nutmegged pair, and a statement of intent for Middlesbrough in the game.

We could have fallen further behind - Hellberg’s men had their tails up, Silvera and Whittaker combining again on the right to force Lecomte into another save from the latter. A smart piece of play from Conway and Gilbert on the other side let Hackney sneak into the box between a wrongly-positioned Cuenca and the covering Traore - had he not deliberated over the finish and lifted it pensively over the bar, we’d have been two goals down.

It seemed to snap us into life, Traore doing his best to get down the wing and put balls into the middle. However, just as we’d seen earlier, they weren’t being met by enough of an end product. Whilst the build-up play towards the closing minutes of the half was very good, our midfield duo finally putting a little energy into their movement and getting the ball into dangerous areas quicker, Middlesbrough’s centre-backs had their bodies in the right place to deny us the scoring chance. Some slick play with Sess and Smith Rowe on the left gave Kevin a shooting chance, thumped into Ayling before it reached Brynn, and the former Leeds man was diligently on the line to prevent Reed’s corner from being turned in by Cuenca’s low volley. His own PL experience was proving useful in preserving their clean sheet.

Second Half

If Fulham thought their poor start was a fluke, that they were going to breeze past Middlesbrough in the second half, they were in for a rude awakening. The early breeziness of the first few moves, with more squandered opportunities from a Reed corner and a dismal Kevin cross, were quickly inverted by the visitors, injecting their own pace into the game. Right back Browne travelled forward to give Whittaker a run of his own, turning Sessegnon in the box and dribbling into a shooting position. Whether it was a shot or a cross, the angle wasn’t favourable for the visitors and Fulham were spared. It was a little end-to-end in these opening minutes, both sides able to move the ball into shootable positions. Kevin, still struggling to connect his promise into something concrete, bent a shot into Ayling’s body for another block. Gilbert unpieced Cuenca in midfield to take Middlesbrough forward on their own counter, causing a few nerves to fly in the Fulham team, before Lukic moved forward on the ball and powered a shot straight into Malanda, causing a brief pause in play.

This was a window for Silva, up in the stands, to change things around. We’d been wasteful on the ball and lethargic around the park - the solution came in the form of three big guns, captain Cairney, goalslinger Jimenez and the maestro Harry Wilson. Whilst Reed, Kusi-Asare and Traore all need the minutes, the three weren’t doing enough to put Fulham on top in the game - this was the immediate target of the changes. It had an instant impact - whilst Middlesbrough still felt confident enough to fly forward, Diop needed to stop Conway latching onto Silvera’s long ball into him, we had footballers with a touch more chemistry on the pitch, and there was an added slickness to our play. And sure enough, the opportunity came - Kevin, moving down the left, lifted the ball to Wilson, nipping into the box. Targett’s poorly-timed jump let him collect the ball and manoeuvre into a shooting position - the Middlesbrough defence gave our star man far too much space and he bent the ball around Gilbert into the far left corner of the net.

Again, the equaliser was not the end of Middlesbrough, who seemed determined to take something from the game. A scary moment for Castagne saw Hackney pressure him into a poorly-placed pass - Gilbert latched onto the loose ball and passed Conway in space on the edge of the box, letting the striker lash a shot at goal. Only the crossbar denied them a restored lead. The striker swapped for Burgzorg, a bigger, swifter replacement, and his arrival seemed to put a spring in his teammates’ step, taking us off the ball by moving back into our half. The combinations on the wing were really troubling our full-backs, producing dangerous crosses and corners - thankfully, our centre-backs were attuned to the added danger, and with the added energy of our substitutes kept the visitors from being able to take a dangerous shot at goal.

With each failed Middlesbrough assault, their energy drained a little, increasing the effectiveness of our own attacks. Cairney being on the pitch gave us extra vision and temperament on the ball, and put our key men in prime positions. After receiving the ball from Jimenez, Wilson spotted Kevin darting into space on the left at the halfway line. The Brazilian did brilliantly to stay ahead of Browne, but upon reaching the box and striking at goal the shot flew just wide of the right post. The quicker tempo was unnerving their defence though, and with energy depleting produced previously unseen mistakes. Malanda gave the ball away with Fulham bodies hovering around, keeping Fulham in the Middlesbrough final third for a good period of time - again, Kevin lashed at the chance he got from one such move, wasting Jimenez’ lay off with a shot scuffed into the floor.

But the momentum proved too much for the visitors, and after we repelled their counter-attack our attackers had the space to make the move count. Smith Rowe surged through the pitch, moving the ball wide to Wilson. With the defence retreating Wilson played it back to Cairney, who had the space to play a killer pass through the lines to Smith Rowe, dangerously placed in the box. He turned away from Ayling and Morris in his pocket of breathing room to bury his shot into the net, turning the game on its head and letting Fulham fans breathe a sigh of relief - at last, we had the lead our expectations demanded.

They almost had a rapid equaliser - Morris, collecting an aerial ball, dinked a pass through to Whittaker, who’d escaped Cuenca. Lecomte spread his body and forced the forward to try and bend his shot around him - a wise move, as Whittaker narrowly missed the target. Yet Middlesbrough were reeling, having exhausted themselves across the game, and Hellberg made a triple change - Fox, Nypan and Ibeh all arrived to try and rescue the game for the visitors. But we’ve been in this position before - against European-calibre teams, no less - and consolidating the ball was the name of the game. Knowing the visitors would try and throw everyone forward, we simply had to run with the ball into their half, wait for them to inevitably try and take it off us, and play it around them to eat away the time. We had one real scare left, a menacing piece of physical play from Burgzorg that produced a shot Robinson needed to block, but it was our possession that dominated the final stages of the game.

There was a pleasant reward for us at the end of it too. Lukic took the ball forward in the aforementioned manner, forcing the tired men in red to track back with him. A passing sequence let us work it around the box with the forwards before Wilson, having collected a pass from a wide Jimenez, curled a lovely pass over the defence. With Browne out of position, and Morris too far to reach the ball, Kevin was in the right place to tap the ball in, finally breaking his duck and sealing a 3-1 win for his team.

A Cup Comeback

Fulham turned a game around that they were losing - you can never sniff at that, regardless of who the opposition is. I don’t think we give enough credit to Silva for the way he’s turned our cup performances around - we have taken these games seriously throughout his tenure. Many managers would have seen their sides dumped out here, and certainly wouldn’t have been bold enough to put on three of the club’s most important players in one go to turn the game around.

Wilson gets the limelight again, and why not? The man turns everything he touches to gold at the moment, with another dazzling display on the right to unwork Middlesbrough. Targett, who’d fought closely with Traore in the first half, was blown to pieces by the Welshman. Another goal, and an assist for Kevin, mean Wilson is amongst the strongest performing players in the league, and it’s a testament to his development that he is now the key man for our goal-decisive moments. Don’t sleep on the defensive contributions too - some really important tracking back took place across the second half to keep us from being swamped by Gilbert and Hackney making moves on our right.

Cairney was just as important - a cool head for a tough situation, and without quite the same physical pressure (and with rested legs to enter the game) he was a diamond in midfield, piecing together brilliant passing moves. Reed, much as we love him, was never going to provide the same quality, and certainly didn’t have the wavelength of the defence as read as the captain. Jimenez shouldn’t be forgotten either - how many games in a row has the man featured in now? He was everywhere, piecing together play, moving to the wings to create space for his teammates and chasing after defenders out of possession. Together, the pair meant Smith Rowe and Kevin, who had mediocre starts, ended the game in strong fashion, putting the Premier League seal on our performance today. They both scored in the end, a nice reward for their efforts - for Kevin in particular, there’s a chance the goal can fix a mental block for him, and see his fabulous build-up play connect to more goals.

Defensively there were a few lapses today. Lukic and Reed worked hard, but the pair aren’t a great combination, and we looked rudderless and vulnerable whilst the pair both manned the midfield. Cuenca, though better later on, wobbled during the process of Middlesbrough’s attacks - Diop, conversely, looked great again, and really seems to have hit a good patch of form for us. Sessegnon didn’t enjoy himself whatsoever, being embarrassed on a number of occasions by Whittaker and Silvera, and Robinson showcased why he is the starting left-back when he arrived. A shame for Sess, but hopefully this will make Silva start to trust him as an attacker, where his pace was one of the few things in the first half that functioned properly. Castagne, not for the first time, looked out of place at the back - cover for Tete is a necessity going forward.

Middlesbrough for Promotion?

How about Middlesbrough? There’s clearly an aspirational team here, one that looked competent and capable for large parts of the game, and the dream of promotion doesn’t seem outlandish on the basis of this performance. Our starting line-up was not filled with youth players - some of them have been regular starters across the season! Thus, it’s not that unlikely we’ll be seeing a good portion of this team again in the Premier League next year, should Middlesbrough navigate the play-offs. They’ve got some decent experience at the back in Targett and Ayling, and held their own against us for considerable stretches of the game.

Hackney has the fanfare and looked slick at times today, making it clear why so many want him poached from the club. I liked the forward four - the fluid movement meant it was hard to track who was running down the wings or moving between the defensive lines, making Middlesbrough’s passing really solid. If we really had to be scrutinous, Conway might have offered a little more as a striker - compared to Whittaker, involved in more dangerous moments across the game, and the wider efforts of Gilbert and Silvera - one of whom struck an assist - the Scottish forward looked a little lacking. Still, it’s not hard to see why they are in the Championship promotion race, making it even more impressive Fulham were able to turn this game around today.

This win puts us into the next round, ensures our 2026 remains unbeaten and keeps the mood around the club positive and vibrant. With AFCON slowly heading to its conclusion, and several players hitting decent form just as we’ve got through the tough run of games around New Year’s, there’s a lot to feel good about at the Cottage. Leeds are up next - here’s hoping the momentum of progressing in the Cup can help us down one of the form teams in the league right now.