Fulham suffered an agonising exit from the Auto Windscreens Shield as Wycombe Wanders won a dramatic southern area semi-final 6-4 on penalties after extra time at Craven Cottage tonight.
The Whites made the perfect start as they aimed to make a first return to Wembley since 1975 when the mercurial Gary Brazil half volleyed home after Wanderers had failed to clear a corner. Don Mackay’s put together an enterprising first half performance that made you wonder what might have been possible had Ara Bedrossian been available to pull the strings alongside Julian Hails and Udo Onwere at the start of the season.
But Wycombe had an ace up their sleeve as the half time introduction of striker Tim Langford completely changed the complexion of the evening. Keith Ryan and Simon Garner came close to testing Stannard with strikes from inside the penalty area in quick succession – and Fulham were penned deep in their own territory for a full five minutes before Langford levelled matters just after the hour mark. The substitution punished indecision when Glen Thomas and Jim Stannard left dealing with Steve Guppy’s cross to each other and scored from close range.
There followed a tricky fifteen minutes as Fulham’s control of the midfield evaporated. Stannard made a couple of crucial saves to keep out efforts from Garner and Simon Stapleton as Martin O’Neill’s men began to assert themselves. In extra time, the Fulham goal lived a charmed life. Dave Carroll hit the bar and Langford had a shot cleared off the line before he fired them back in front after outpacing Duncan Jupp.
Fulham, though, hit back with ten minutes of extra time remaining. Lee Tierling had gone exceptionally close with a fierce drive, but Brazil’s second of the evening – a close range finish after excellent work by Tierling and his fellow substitute Michael Mison – restored belief. It was crucially snatched away in the ensuing shoot-out as Martin Pike and Duncan Jupp missed from the spot, cruelly curtailing the Cottagers’ epic Cup adventure.
FULHAM: Stannard; Jupp, Pike, Angus, G. Thomas; Eckhardt, Onwere (Mison 97), Bedrossian (Tierling 105), Baah, Hails, Brazil. Subs (not used): Harrison.
GOALS: Brazil (1, 110).
WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Hyde; Cousins, Evans (Kerr 42), Crossley, Horton (Langford 45); Ryan, Thompson, Stapleton, Carroll; Guppy, Garner. Sub (not used): Moussadik.
GOALS: Langford (61, 95).
REFEREE: Mike Bailey.
ATTENDANCE: 8,733.
