Roy relieved to be in the hat

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was pleased by the way his players produced a much-improved second half performance to see off a determined Accrington Stanley side in the FA Cup today.

The League Two team were the better side in the first 45 minutes and Fulham were slightly fortunate to be level at the break. Boosted by Accrington being reduced to ten men just before half time, Fulham went on to win 3-1, although Hodgson looked a nervy man on the touchline.

I was pleased with the second half but we were aided and abetted by the fact that they had a player sent off. They did go out and set about their task in a very aggressive manner so it wasn’t a surprise to see a few yellow cards. I suppose it was fortunate for us that they went to the same player.

In the first half they mastered the conditions and were aware of the conditions more than we were and it took us a while to get used to the fact that it was going to be very difficult to play the ball through midfield. When we started to get hold of the ball in midfield we started to cause them enormous problems and in the end the three-one victory was fully deserved. Great credit to Accrington Stanley for the fight they put up and the problems they caused us throughout the game.

We’re missing several players from the team that finished seventh last season. Even today there are a lot of First Team players that we can recover as early as Tuesday so I’m pleased we got through the game.

I’m also pleased that people like Bjorn Helge Riise and David Elm got their chance because they’re going to need this type of experience and practice because for a long time they’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching other people play.