Fulham vs Newcastle United. The FA Cup Fourth Round.
Craven CottageAttendance18,960.
Match report as Newcastle beat Fulham 2-0 to move into the FA Cup fifth round; Sean Longstaff swept the Magpies in front six minutes before half-time despite handball calls on assist maker Bruno Guimaraes; Dan Burn doubled the visitors' lead after half-time from a corner
Sunday 28 January 2024 07:07, UK
Newcastle breezed into the last 16 of the FA Cup as goals from Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn earned them a 2-0 win over a much-changed Fulham side.
The Magpies named their strongest squad available to them for this cup tie whereas Fulham made seven changes to their regular side and the visitors' overall quality proved to be the difference - but their opener was doused in controversy.
Longstaff swept home from the edge of the area six minutes before half-time as Newcastle went short from a corner, but Fulham wanted the goal ruled out as Bruno Guimaraes touched the ball with his arm in assisting the goal.
VAR did not chalk it off as Guimaraes was not the scorer. Fulham manager Silva fully believed Newcastle's goal should not have stood for handball - but did not want to be drawn on the referee's performance.
"It's handball, it's a decision from the referee," he said in his press conference. "For me it's handball, but the decision from the referee is not in that direction."
As Fulham sought an equaliser after the break, Newcastle doubled their lead as Burn smashed home from close range after Sven Botman's header was saved by Marek Rodak from a corner.
So Newcastle go into the hat for Sunday afternoon's fifth round draw as the Magpies look to end a 69-year wait for a major trophy this season. Fulham, meanwhile, have suffered the inigmony of two cup exits in three days following their Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool in midweek.
Fulham had more chances within the first half with most of them falling to recalled striker Rodrigo Muniz. The Spaniard blazed over an early chance from outside the box - before Newcastle had the best chance of the opening period.
Bobby Decordova-Reid's sloppy backpass was picked up by the returning Jacob Murphy in the box after two months out injured. The Newcastle winger blasted straight at Rodak, when a sharper version of the forward would have done better.
Rodak was also equal to Kieran Trippier's low effort from a corner - before Anthony Gordon flashed wide at the near post seconds later.
The industrious Muniz then forced Martin Dubravka into a smart low stop, before Botman deflected the Fulham striker's next effort just wide of the post.
Just as Fulham were getting on top, Newcastle struck in controversial fashion. Trippier's corner went short before going into the box, when Fulham cleared onto Guimaraes' arm. The ball broke to Longstaff who fired home with his left foot.
Fulham were furious at no handball being given - with VAR awarding the goal as Guimaraes was not the scorer of the goal.
Murphy thought he had a second when he broke clear and fired past Rodak - but the Newcastle winger was penalised for offside.
Fulham themselves had a goal chalked off as substitute Willian - on for the injured Harry Wilson who picked up a shoulder injury - sweeping home, but an offside on Decordova-Reid was spotted by the linesman in the build-up.
The pressure from the home side grew as Kenny Tete blazed over - but again, Newcastle struck with a goal against the run of play.
Trippier's corner was met by Botman at the far post - his header was saved by Rodak but Burn was on hand at the rebound to slam home.
Fulham brought on Raul Jimenez and Joao Palhinha in a bid to get back in the game and the former had a golden chance to haul one back for the hosts, but could only head over after beating Botman and Dubravka to a right-wing cross.
Fellow substitute Tom Cairney blazed the last chance of the game wide as it showed Fulham had the chances to claim something from this game. They just weren't clinical enough.
Asked about the handball incident, Howe claimed he does not want to see handball given in that instance given Guimaraes' arm was by his side.
"I don't want to be too clever," he said when asked about the call. "In an ideal world, I don't want to see handball given either for or against me in that situation.
"Bruno's arm was by his side. You might get a different answer if I was on the receiving end."
Howe also said he is dumbfounded by how good his side are away from home in the cup competitions - but they somehow cannot transfer that to their Premier League form.
"Strange isn't it? in the cups we've been ok: in the Carabao Cup and then two away wins in the FA Cup," he said.
"But we haven't put it across into the Premier League which has been a huge frustration. We prided ourselves last season on being hard to play against.
"It was a big result for us, we know we wanted to progress. It's our last chance of silverware this season, there is the expectation for us internally to give everything to get through.
"We got the major bits right which were resilience, character and attitude. We got better in the game and in the second half.
"I was a bit frustrated with the first half, with how we prepared I expected to see more. Second half was much better and we did see some of the things we have been working on. You want to see your work translate to the pitch.
"It was a big step forward just to win the game. You have to be in the next round, which we are."
As well as being annoyed at the first Newcastle goal, Silva also believed his side were worthy of more than what Fulham got - especially given they had 16 shots, and just two on target - while they also conceded two goals from set pieces."
"The stats show that we are the most dominant team on the pitch, we started on the front foot," he added. "We were clearly the team who was always closest to scoring goals. Football is not just about that, you have to be ruthless to put the ball in the back of the net.
"We deserved much more than what we got from it. We were the team who tried more, to be more dominant on the ball, created more chances as well. But the reality is we lost. We are not in the next round because we made mistakes, at this level these sides punish you.
"The players deserve it, but you're punished in these situations."
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz at Craven Cottage:
Eddie Howe couldn't have afforded an FA Cup exit here - that's probably why he went for his strongest possible team at Fulham.
Newcastle have lost four on the bounce in the Premier League - where they sit tenth - and are out of the two other competitions. Failure to really compete for the FA Cup and Newcastle's owners may question whether Howe has taken this team as far as he can go.
So ignoring a trip to Aston Villa on Tuesday night may just be the wise thing to do for Howe. While other Premier League clubs, like Fulham on Saturday, make wholesale changes and look to balance the squad, Newcastle can go full throttle in this competition.
Winning the FA Cup would bring Europa League football which seems fair for Newcastle's standing right now. But more importantly, it would create more memories to keep the Toon faithful onside.
This is only the third time Newcastle have reached the FA Cup fifth round since 2006. More memories will help Howe's cause to stay at St James' Park for longer.
Fulham host Everton back in the Premier League on Tuesday 30 January.
Newcastle face a tricky trip to high-flying Aston Villa, also on Tuesday in the Premier League.
