Another much changed Fulham eleven cruised into the third round of the League Cup by beating Chesterfield Town 4-0 at Craven Cottage tonight.
Jean Tigana clearly wasn’t worried by the fact that a second string Fulham side had been beaten at Saltergate in the first leg as he made ten changes from the side that had featured in the First Division at the weekend. Deploying a new 3-5-2 formation, Tigana saw his side struggle to impose themselves in the early stages and survive a scare when Maik Taylor made a smart stop to deny Marcus Ebdon an away goal.
Gradually, the hosts upped the ante and several fringe players took the opportunity to impress. Midfielder Steve Hayward, a regular at the Cottage until Tigana took over the reigns in the summer, levelled matters on aggregate when he squeezed a set-piece through the wall and past Mike Pollitt from 25 yards with ten minutes to go until the interval. The First Division side took things up a notch after the break with Barry Hayles adding some impetus in the final third after he replaced Kevin Betsy at half time.
The forgotten American international Eddie Lewis seized a chance to shine as he roamed from a national central midfield position to be at the forefront of Fulham’s best moves. Lewis, who has struggled for game time over past eighteen minutes in SW6, supplied the second goal which eased any home nerves with a flighted corner that was easily headed home by Kit Symons at the far post. The former San Jose star was the provider for Fulham’s third as well, hitting a superb 30 yard ball that found Hayles in space. The hulking forward darted inside his man and drove a lovely low finish past Pollitt.
Luis Boa Morte added a fabulous fourth in the final seconds when he took control of the ball out on the right wing and ran at a retreating defence. The Portuguese under-21 international carried the ball past three challengers before thumping a fine finish high into the net to round off the scoring.
FULHAM (3-5-2): Taylor; Symons, Hudson, Knight (McAnespie 61); Neilson, Trollope, Hayward (Fernandes 67), Lewis, Clark; Boa Morte, Betsy (Hayles 45). Subs (not used): Hahnemann, Hammond.
GOALS: Hayward (35), Symons (73), Hayles (78), Boa Morte (90).
CHESTERFIELD TOWN (4-5-1): Pollitt; Tutill, Blatherwick, Breckin, Edwards; Willis (Reeves 51), Galloway (Perkins 72), Williams (Howard 55), Ebdon, Parrish; Beckett. Subs (not used): Armstrong, Beaumont.
BOOKED: Ebdon, Reeves.
REFEREE: Barry Knight (Orpington).
ATTENDANCE: 4,800.
