Rodrigo Muniz was once considered an expensive luxury handed out to Marco Silva, but the Brazilian striker has made the sceptics look silly this season. The former Flamengo forward scored goals against Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United but his brace at the Brick Community Stadium helped Fulham reach the fifth round of the FA Cup despite wobbling against Wigan Athletic this afternoon.
Muniz punished some lethargic Latics defending to fire the Premier League side, but the Whites were rocked when Johnny Smith curled in a sensational equaliser after the break. It offered Shaun Maloney a chance to embarrass his old Hull City boss and, with a shrewd double switch that saw Owen Dale and Ronan Darcy pose Fulham plenty of problems, but it took just five minutes for Muniz to latch onto a lovely Andreas Pereira pass and lash past Sam Tickle.
Maloney refused to allow Steven Sessegnon to join his twin brother Ryan on the pitch as the hosts looked for a leveller. Jason Kerr nodded wide, Darcy curled one just past Steven Benda’s far post before Issa Diop almost put a cross past his own goalkeeper. Benda’s erratic display was more Futurama than Premier League, especially when a fluffed clearance presented Darcy with an open goal, but the former Swansea keeper was saved by an offside flag after spilling Dale’s stoppage-time drive into the path of Darcy.
The hosts probably paid for sitting off Silva’s side in a first half where the Whites should have led by more than Muniz’s close range header from Ryan Sessegnon’s floated cross from the left flank. Martial Godo, who starred on loan with the Latics last term, came close to doubling the lead but ruffled the side netting with the terrific Tickle batting away an Issa Diop header. But, after a few stern words from Maloney – an FA Cup winner with Wigan in 2013 – Athletic levelled when Ryan Sessegnon allowed Johnny Smith to dart inside and bend a superb strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
But the Latics’ lead evaporated quickly when Pereira switched from playacting to playmaking and decisively won his feisty battle with James Carragher. The Brazilian international put Muniz in the clear with a peach of pass and the striker finished fabulously to keep the Whites on course for another trip to Wembley 50 years after Alec Stock’s second tier side reached the final.
But the fact that Silva sent on Sander Berge to shore things up showed just how Maloney’s battlers had rattled their illustrious opponents and suggested that the depth of Fulham’s squad could be overrated. This wasn’t a day for the romantics – or the wider public as the television executives selected other matches for broadcast – but it showed the world’s oldest club cup competition can still leave us all on the edge of our seats.
WIGAN ATHLETIC (4-2-3-1): Tickle; Sibbick, L. Robinson (McHugh 75), Carragher, Kerr; Adeeko (Darcy 61), Scott Smith; Jonny Smith (McManaman 70), Asamoah (Dale 61), Weir, Taylor (Goodwin 71). Subs (not used): Watson, Aimson, S. Sessegnon, J. Robinson.
BOOKED: L. Robinson, McHugh.
GOAL: J. Smith (50).
FULHAM: Benda; Castagne, R. Sessegnon, Diop, Cuenca; Reed, Cairney (Berge 85); King (Smith Rowe 86), Pereira (Traoré 75′), Godo (Iwobi 75); Muniz (Carlos VinÃcius 90) Subs (not used): Leno, Andersen, Willian, Jiménez.
GOALS: Muniz (23, 55).
REFEREE: David Webb.
ATTENDANCE: 12,281.
A win is a win !! Going through to the next round with a reserve side is fine with me !! A kind draw and we can go far as we have nothing to fight for in the league !!
We are in the 5th round draw and that’s all that matters, I guess.
But this was definitely a time for those players who don’t play regularly to step up and show their credentials and it gave us, the fans, the opportunity to assess their worth.
Muniz definitely impressed with his finishing. Godo, Cuenca and King also acquitted themselves well enough.
Others, less so.
Ryan Sessegnon might just escape criticism, thanks to an excellent cross for the first.
Andreas Pereira’s brilliant pass for the second though does not let him off the hook. His reaction to having his SHIRT pulled by Carragher was to go down clutching his face as if he’d just been knocked out and was, probably, one of the most embarrassing moments in my tortuous, Fulham supporting life. The fact that he stayed down for so long that the game was halted and he required treatment was an utter disgrace, conning his own physios.
Everybody else underperformed to such an extent that we almost paid the price against a revitalised Wigan, 16th in League One, highlighting the lack of quality within the squad but a special mention has to go to the goalkeeper, Benda, who confirmed what we all suspected: God help us if Bernd Leno ever gets injured.
Ist half we were a class above and it was like watching a practice match, Thankfully Wigan came out in the 2nd half and made a proper game of it. 2 well taken goals from Muniz and another fine performance by Cuenca at the back.
I really hate these grounds where they have to rely on a drum to generate atmosphere.
Sorry Baljit but there’s plenty to play for in the league. 42 points. Why write us off with 14 games to play?
These games are tank traps for the big name clubs, many have fallen in, so a win with many second string players has to go down as satisfactory.
Have always been impressed with Cuenca and he, King, Godo and Muniz, must be the future. I think Muniz has come in for quite a bit of unfair criticism, true that he isn’t what you’d think of as the finished article, but like the others he’s young and will only improve.
Quite a few positives:))
I never like to criticise our own players, but my God, Benda is nowhere near Premier League standard. If Leno has to miss a number of matches through injury we would be in some trouble.
Benda needs minutes if he’s to improve his game. He did look a bit ‘rabbit in the headlights’ but I still think he needs to be given a chance rather than people getting on his back. 2nd choice keeper is a thankless task unlike any other position. Barely any game time to improve, yet expected to be equal to the first choice when they get the call. Catch 22.
I’d also argue that, as we’ve conceded a few from distance this season, it’s not 100% a goalkeeping issue, as Leno has also come in for criticism. We should be shutting down the possibility of someone putting in a shot from distance.
Sess always brings something to a game, whether at LB or further up. He isn’t Robbo, but can do a job and still has time to improve. Sweet cross for the first.
I don’t want to say this but I wouldn’t be confident relying on TC or Harry were either Sasa or Sander to be out for a few games. Both have been fantastic for us, but time moves on. I’m sort of hoping the Pogba rumour is true and that we’ll sign him as cover (?) until the Summer.
And I have say that I feel sorry for both Cuenca and Diop. Both look worthy of being starters. I still have a gut feeling that Cuenca is going to be a revelation when he gets a run of games.
Godo and King both look to have something about them. I hope they get minutes this season and keep improving, so that we have two oven ready players to step up when needed next term.