Fulham manager Martin Jol was delighted with Fulham’s clinical finishing in their 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round this afternoon – and described the Cup as ‘the best competition’ in the world.
The Fulham boss picked a strong side – with Kerim Frei coming in for Steve Sidwell as the only change from the team that beat Arsenal on Monday – and, despite some nervy moments in the second half, were comfortable winners over a spirited Charlton side. Jol waxed lyrical about the enduring tradition and importance of the Cup afterwards:
I wasn’t here for the last four or five years but I still think the FA Cup is the best competition in the world. I told the players that and maybe they think differently, but I don’t think so.
For a club like Fulham, maybe you can discuss about [the importance of] the Carling Cup but the FA Cup for me is not sacred, but it is one of the best competitions. The only thing that is amazing is I looked at Birmingham v Wolves, for example, and I said to Ray Lewington ‘I thought it would be a sellout?’
Even when I played it was a sellout and it was the same when I was at Spurs. 20,000 is okay and I hope and that appreciation for the FA Cup will remain the same.
Jol was satisfied with the final scoreline, although he admitted that there were some sloppy aspects to Fulham’s play.
In hindsight 4-0 is a very good result, especially if you see the other results. We knew before the game they have got a very good side with a good mentality.
They win games and make a habit of that. They had two defeats in 24 games and that showed in the first 15 minutes of the second half. When you let them play to their strengths they are a hard team to beat, but of course we have got out qualities as well.
The first 25 minutes was really good from us but the only thing we lacked a bit was end product. When we made the substitutions in the second half, we scored immediately with Clint playing on the inside.
Damien Duff did very well when he came on. Everybody stepped up a gear and we realised that we had to take it to them to win. It was very positive that Clint scored three goals and Bryan Ruiz created all the goals.
