Marco Silva got the better of his former employers as Fulham produced one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the FA Cup. Harry Wilson’s shot was parried by Matt Ingram in the 37th minute, leaving Kurzawa with a straightforward finish. James then sealed a 2-0 victory late in the game. Their Championship hosts also changed up their lineup, but they were left to regret Harvey Vale fluffing his lines in the opening moments of his first home start as they lost steam after starting out strong at the MKM Stadium. After three consecutive victories, Silva, whose previous managerial position in England was a brief one at Hull in 2017, rested a number of first-team players who have helped Fulham move up to seventh in the top flight.
Since Aleksandar Mitrovic was completely absent from the team and Hull, managed by former Fulham defender Liam Rosenior, began out strongly, it’s possible that they missed his presence up top. Bobby Decordova-hesitation Reid’s over a clearance gave Vale, one of Hull’s eight substitutions, a chance, but the teenager wasted it by prodding wastefully wide after being clean through. Lewie Coyle’s low left-foot attempt was palmed away by Marek Rodak as Hull’s more direct style continued to create opportunities, despite Fulham gradually becoming more dangerous as the half went on.
Reid, Harrison Reed, and Tosin Adarabioyo were the only players from Fulham’s 1-0 victory over Leicester who was kept on. Andreas Pereira forced Ingram to tip over Fulham’s opening shot. Following a cross from Tom Cairney, the former Hull player who is now captain of Fulham, who launched the sequence that saw the visitors take the lead, Pereira then snuck into the area but was unable to control his shot. Wilson received Cairney’s pass, but Hull goalkeeper Ingram stopped him before the ball could reach Kurzawa, who tapped the rebound into an open net via the post.
The Tigers were unable to muster much of a response on either side of halftime as their opponents were in complete control. It was Kurzawa’s first goal for Fulham and it stood despite Hull’s protestations for offside. James made numerous rambunctious runs, but Cairney curled over and Carlos Vinicius pulled wide, preventing Fulham from creating a significant opportunity to distance themselves from Hull. Despite the 14,175 spectators’ best efforts, Fulham was strong at the back and Ingram had to be ready to block James’ stinging effort, which was the first shot on goal of the second half.
As time passed 90 minutes, Rosenior substituted three forwards, Oscar Estupinan, Benjamin Tetteh, and Aaron Connolly, in an attempt to score an equalizer. Rodak had to push Estupinan’s header over the bar, but as Ingram advanced for the corner and Hull went all-out, the opposition was eventually defeated on the counter. James was able to sneak in and dribble the ball into an empty net as Fulham won thanks to Coyle’s inability to deal with a long clearance.
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