[NoSkillz]

Sat. February 19, 2022

FA Cup - 5th Round
Fulham (19th in Barclays Premier League) vs. Dover (5th in Barclays Premier League)
Craven Cottage, London, UK

Betting Odds: Fulham: 4-1 Draw: 5-2 Dover: 4-7 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 6W 2D 2L

Fulham's manager just quit and went to last placed Southampton in a weird lateral move, leaving Fulham without a manager today. We just beat them a couple weeks ago here by a score of 5-3 and we are significant favourites on the road.

We'll make a few changes due to poor form but we have a full week off after today's match so we can go with a reasonably full lineup. Neil Cairney and Giorgos Gesios are both out of form and won't start - Cairney will be on the bench but Gesios will watch from the stands today. Paulus Tjiuoro will play for Claudio Contreras and we'll go with Paul Moses and Wayne Rooney up front. Mancini will start for Cairney. Flat 4-4-2 control today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, P. Tjiuoro, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, Mancini, A. Rocca, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, W. Rooney
Bench - J. Kuciak, J. Varga, N. Cairney, K. Kalfas, C. Murray, A. Zubizarreta, Z. Bardi

Fulham have been playing with one striker a lot this year but with their manager gone, they are playing a flat 4-4-2 today. The dangerous Milan Djuric is up front with Wim Georges. I'd like to tell the players I expect a win but instead go with my assistant who says to do it for the travelling supporters.

4' - Moses with a nice little pass to Rooney in the area and the veteran forces Joe Lewis to make a nice save.

6' - We get a free kick and there's a disaster as Mancini is tripped and Fulham storm up field on a counter. It's a bloody 4 on 2 and Djuric's shot is stopped by Wilke but the rebound is right there for Wim Georges and he easily puts it in the net for the stunner. HORRIFIC defence. FULHAM GOAL 0-1

7' - Right off the ensuing kick, we work nice little passes up field and Moses is on the tail end of the possession. He speeds through the defence and shoots but hits the goalpost!

17' - We continue to gift them possession with terrible giveaways and Mancini especially is playing poorly.

22' - I've got steam coming out of my ears as Jake Livermore, their central midfielder, beats a tackle from Hamon and walks right in before shooting off the goalpost.

28' - Rocca with a shot from distance that hits the crossbar.

35' - We work a great counter with Rooney feeding Rocca who then feeds it through the defence and it's young Paul Moses in on goal. The in-form striker shoots and it's WIDE. One of those halves...

41' - Bamba sends the ball up the left flank and Moses runs it down. He's in the area at the byline and left foots it back to Rocca and his quick shot goes into the far corner and we're finally level! DOVER GOAL 1-1

45'+1 - We have a throw in down the right flank and Bolis takes the ball and touches it up to Rooney. From well out, maybe two yards outside the area, he fires a low shot at goal that should be saved but it goes right through Lewis and into the net. That's Rooney's 10th of the year and we have two in five minutes to take an undeserved lead! DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - We have 51% of possession but Fulham outshot us 11-9 (5-3 on target). Somehow, we strike for two quick late-half goals and we're ahead. I tell the team I'm pleased with the scoreline.

49' - Rooney steals the ball from fine central defender Sam Magri and feeds Paul Moses. The youngster speeds through the middle but has defenders all around him. He shoots from distance and again, it's not a great shot but Lewis simply isn't very good and the shot is in the net. Moses is up to four goals in his last three games and we now have a comfortable lead. DOVER GOAL 3-1

53' - Mancini with a shot from well out and Lewis has to dive to make the save. We get a corner and Mancini gets another piledriver off but Lewis again saves in fine fashion.

55' - Some sloppy play on our part leads to a header toward goal from Djuric but Wilke is in good position for the save.

58' - I think we're in decent shape here so I pull both Gianluca Bois and Andrea Rocca and replace them with Kostas Kalfas and Aitor Zubizarreta.

65' - Kalfas lumbers up the right side but feeds a WONDERFUL cross into the box to Moses. He has an open net but takes an extra touch and shoots right at Lewis. Terrible finish. That was a sitter.

70' - A bit more sloppy defence sees Djuric jump on a loose ball in our area but he's on a poor angle and Wilke makes the save.

84' - Jozef Varga is on for Renato Gaucho.

85' - Oh boy, Fulham have a throw in deep in our end and the cross meets the head of Marco Astvald and he heads it past Wilke and into the net. This game isn't over. FULHAM GOAL 3-2

We switch to a counter attack mentality.

86' - We get a great chance off the ensuing kick as Rooney sends in Moses. He cuts in from the left and shoots but Lewis makes the fine save to keep them in it.

Fulham switch to a 4-2-4.

We hold them off the rest of the way and move on in the competition.

Fulham 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Andrea Rocca (7.8), Wayne Rooney (8.5), Paul Moses (8.1)
Assists - Gianluca Bolis (7.1), Wayne Rooney, Paul Moses
Man of the Match - Wayne Rooney
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2), Rayane Hamon (7.0)
Attendance - 13,845

Way closer than we would like but it's a win. We hold 51% of overall possession and outshoot them 18-16 (9-9 on target).

-- We win £184,000 for moving on to the quarterfinals. Last year was our best FA Cup effort when we lost in the semis to Tottenham.



Dover U18 Update

-- Emmerson Harvey, recently sent back down to the U18s, scores our only goal in a 1-1 draw versus West Ham.



FA Cup - Quarterfinal Draw

-- I can't get any breaks in any of these draws. With eight teams remaining, we still have Barnsley, a League 1 side in the competition and two Championship sides in QPR and West Bromwich. I draw Arsenal, of course. At least it's at home.



Champions League Updates

-- Man City win away 2-1 at Porto and Atletico Madrid win by the same scoreline at Besiktas. Benfica win 2-1 versus OM and Man United win away 2-0 at Leverkusen to take control of that matchup.



Dover Reserves Team Update

-- We put a strong team on the pitch for this one, with a few out of form players getting some action in order to build confidence and it works. Zoltan Bardi nets a hat trick and Giorgos Gesios and Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz net singles in a 5-1 win over Burnley.



International Update

-- We have 16 players called up for international duty. No need to give the names - it's the same group as usual. The International break is coming up midweek next week.



Next Up

-- We host 14th placed Sunderland in Premier League play.