Marco Silva told Sky Sports that Fulham failed to match Wycombe Wanderers’ intensity in the first half after watching the Whites beat the League One side in a penalty shoot-out to reach the last eight of the League Cup at Adams Park this evening.
Former Fulham forward Cauley Woodrow fired the Chairboys ahead in the fourth minute and, although Josh King’s improvised finish from a corner early in the second half, brought the Premier League outfit level, Fulham still needed Issa Diop to slam home a sudden-death spot-kick to kill off Michael Duff’s side after Benjamin Lecomte had saved three Wycombe penalties.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the shoot-out, Silva said:
“Of course, we knew our obligation was to be in the next round even though it’s not a word that should be in football because we know surprises happen in this competition if your approach is not serious enough. We didn’t play with the intensity we should have in the first half but we did after that, and we created seven or eight clear chances. I told the players, in these types of moments, we are the first ones who have to be positive.
We aim high in these competitions. The team has been very very competitive in all the cup games. With more players available, we will be much stronger. We were serious, but when you come off some bad results, you have to be positive and confident, but you feel something around and the first minutes of the game showed that. [Wycombe’s goal] was their only shot on target they had, and it was a goal we should’ve defended better.
The players have to be positive, we have to play well to boost confidence. The fans need to make the Cottage a fortress on Saturday.”
