Fulham produced a professional performance to see off Boston United at York Street on Wednesday evening. A brace from Tomasz Radzinski and goals Brian McBride and Steed Malbranque guided the Whites to a 4-1 victory.
“It was always going to be a tough game,” said manager Chris Coleman after the match. “They’ve got some big guys and they like to get the ball up to their front players quickly so it was never going to be easy.
“I said to the guys we needed a bit of character but I thought we went about our business very, very professionally and we deserved to be 3-0 up at half-time. We started much brighter than them and it could have been more by half time.
“Tomasz Radzinski took his goals very well, he needed 90 minutes. I also thought Brian McBride was magnificent and it was important for us that he got a game under his belt. He’s worked very hard this season and hasn’t had a chance yet. But he got it tonight and he was outstanding.
“We had a few youngsters in the team and I think they all did well and for some of them it was a good experience to be on the same pitch as Paul Gascoigne.
“I’m delighted to see Paul back playing, he’s been one of the best players this country has produced for decades. I wish him all the best.”
Following his outing in last week’s reserve team fixture against Leicester City, Malbranque made his first full start of the season and managed to get on the score sheet with a wonderfully worked goal.
“He’s a quality player,” said Coleman, looking back on the Frenchman’s display. “He scored a good goal in the first half, he gave the ball away a bit too much but he’s still rusty. He got 80 minutes under his belt which I was pleased with.”
