Fulham 0-2 Newcastle: FA Cup fourth round – live | FA Cup
Key events
Fulham have hit back at fan discontent over ticket prices, pointing out via ITV that the attendance tonight was “just under 19,000,” the club are “very satisfied” with that figure given the run of recent home games, and that tickets were “priced reasonably”.
It all seems a bit petty to me, and I’ve never understood why any club would rather have empty seats than offer cheaper tickets. That’s not aimed specifically at Fulham – I’ve always thought Cup games would be a great way to get new fans through the gate, by making cheaper (or even free) tickets available.
Here’s Dan Burn: “We’ve not been great on the road this season, and we talked about putting a performance for them (the away fans). We weren’t at our best tonight, there were glimpes of it in the second half, but Fulham are a very good side. It’s been such a long time since this club’s won something – it’s four games now to win it, so let’s see who we get next and push on.”
Full time! Fulham 0-2 Newcastle
It wasn’t all that pretty, and they spent large parts of the game on the back foot – but Newcastle have won, and are into the fifth round of the FA Cup. They deserved the win for their defensive resilience and for taking their chances, which Fulham did not do.
95 mins: Oh my! Tosin charges forward and cuts back to Tom Cairney, who finally finds the Newcastle defence away from their posts. He shoots – and sends it wide of the far post! Ack, that about sums it up for Fulham.
94 mins: Matt Ritchie replaces Anthony Gordon, who was a lively presence on the break throughout for Newcastle.
93 mins: Fulham, who are 2-0 down with three minutes left, play the ball around in front of the Newcastle defence before Robinson crosses. Dan Burn is up to clear it, leaping majestically, like a salmon moving upstream.
90 mins: Six added minutes. Lee Dixon picks Dan Burn as his player of the match and, er, I agree with him?
89 mins: Livramento plays in Isak, who opts to cut it back to Miley rather than shoot. The young midfielder looks to have been fouled on the edge of the area, but Gillett waves play on. Emil Krafth comes on for Kieran Trippier.
87 mins: Since Jimenez passed up that pair of chances about 10 minutes ago, the wind has gone out of Fulham’s sails, and many home fans’ thoughts are turning to the District Line.
84 mins: Who’s that in the middle of the away end? It’s only Alan Shearer! Word has finally got around to the other Newcastle fans, who are now serenading their former No 9 at great length and volume.
82 mins: That foul aside, Lewis Miley has been very good again – he just looks completely at home in this expensively-assembled team, and has been one of Newcastle’s best performers today.
80 mins: Miley’s hefty challenge on Lukic, who has been able to continue, goes without further punishment. Time ticking away for Fulham here.
79 mins: Livramento gets forward and cuts back towards Gordon, and while Robinson gets back to intercept, his clearance loops behind for a Newcastle corner.
78 mins: Burn slides in expertly again to flick the ball away from Jimenez. Fulham regroup, Tete crosses – but when Botman misses his header, Jimenez can’t react in time. Robinson follows up, sending his shot into the side netting.
76 mins: OK, it nearly worked this time. Tete’s near-post cross, nicely cushioned off the instep, is met by Raul Jimenez, who heads just over with Botman and Dubravka looking at each other.
75 mins: Jacob Murphy is coming off after an encouraging return; he’s replaced by Tino Livramento, also on his way back from injury.
73 mins: Willian tries to lift in a cross *removes glasses, buries face in hands* … which is headed clear of Raul Jiménez, who at least might offer some aerial threat for Fulham.
“An overused word in football: proper,” writes Alan Pugh. “As in proper cup tie, when a lower league hard man deposits a Premier League star on his arse with no attempt to play the ball. Or, proper football club, which means any football club. Except MK Dons.”
@niallmcveigh football speak we want to bin off, is it? “And here’s your commentary team, Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon”
— Spectacled Langour (@SpectacledLangr) January 27, 2024
70 mins: Three changes for Fulham – Decordova-Reid, Reed and Diop go off; Jiménez, Palhinha and Adarabioyo all come on. Is it too little, too late? Probably.
69 mins: It’s been a grind at times for Newcastle but they’re starting to enjoy themselves now. Particularly Gordon, who picks up Trippier’s pass and engages Issa Diop in a foot race. To the big centre-back’s credit, he gets back to stop the shot from coming in.
67 mins: A lovely bit of play from Gordon, who stands Tete up then drops a shoulder, cruises to the byline and hits a rising cross that ends up far too high for Trippier at the far post.
66 mins: Decordova-Reid lifts in a cross – please, I beg you, try something else – and after it’s headed clear, Robinson hits a low shot which is comfortable for Dubravka, even coming through a forest of legs from the edge of the box.
64 mins: Andreas Pereira is off, replaced by Tom Cairney. On ITV, Lee Dixon seems determined to blame Fulham’s defenders for not anticipating Rodak would spill the ball; I think stopping Botman getting a free header would have been more useful.
Trippier’s corner is perfect for Sven Botman, who crashes a downward header on goal. Rodak saves it, but can’t hold it, and Burn is in the right place to turn it in. The travelling fans go wild, and they’ve every right to go wild!
GOAL! Fulham 0-2 Newcastle (Burn 61′)
From a corner, Newcastle double their lead! Dan Burn, who’s been excellent in defence is first to react on the rebound, and the fifth round is in reach.
59 mins: Robinson and Willian trade passes down the left before the full-back sends in an overhit cross – not that many Fulham players were in the area anyway. It lands to Tete, who sends a hopeful shot over the bar.
57 mins: Newcastle have been happy to sit back, but Murphy’s prod through midfield finds Isak here. The forward adjusts his feet and thwacks a shot at goal, which Rodak gets behind well to save at the second attempt.
56 mins: A big shout for handball, as Tete sends another cross crashing into Dan Burn. It hit him on the elbow, arms by his side, so there’ll be no penalty.
54 mins: Another testing cross from Tete but once again, it’s cleared away. Burn, Botman and Schar aren’t going to have much trouble with Muniz (5’10”) on his own up front.
52 mins: Tete gets into space down the right again, but finds Stretch Armstrong, aka Dan Burn, blocking his path again. Lukic is limping back on to the pitch, but who knows how long for.
49 mins: Sasa Lukic swings a leg to try and bring down Lewis Miley, but succeeds only in hurting himself. He needs a spell of treatment, as injury worries mount for Silva.
48 mins: Willian gets crowded out in the area chasing down a loose ball. Fulham very much on the front foot again, but to put it simply, they need a goal.
Peep!
We’re back under way, no half-time changes for either side.
“If you handle the ball accidentally, and go on to score, it is ruled out,” writes Colin Young. “Rightly so. Why is it different if someone else does it for you?” Well, that’s the question. Those are the rules, but I’m not sure what makes it any different.
“‘Back to winning ways’ is my current bete noir”, writes Peter Smith. I particularly dislike that one, as it reminds me of this appalling piece of music which I heard once, and can somehow never escape.
Catch up with today’s FA Cup action:
Half time: Fulham 0-1 Newcastle
That’s the first half in the books – an entertaining 45 minutes, with Fulham creating the better chances before Sean Longstaff fired Newcastle in front. More soon.
48 mins: Decordova-Reid almost scoops the ball into Muniz’s path, but then, ‘almost’ is the word to sum up this first-half Fulham display.
47 mins: Pereira gets the ball in the centre circle, then runs and runs and runs some more, before dragging his shot well wide.
45 mins: Willian replaces Wilson, and Tete almost finds the Brazilian with a low cross right through the six-yard box – but Trippier is there to prod it away, with centre-forward Muniz lurking without intent on the edge of the area.
44 mins: Jacob Murphy runs on to a through ball and buries his shot past Rodak. The away end goes wild – and then the flag goes up. Replays show Murphy, who was right in front of the assistant, was about five yards offside. Another rule that needs work.
43 mins: Muniz cranes his neck to direct Pereira’s header on target, but it lacks the power to trouble Dubravka.
42 mins: Anyway, as Fulham fans Google ‘handball laws’ around the ground, their team are trying to bounce back – but Harry Wilson looks unable to continue, which is a blow.
GOAL! Fulham 0-1 Newcastle (Longstaff 39′)
The goal stands! Pretty much every Fulham player protested, but the VAR has not intervened. The ball definitely struck Bruno’s arm, which was down by his side. Because he didn’t score himself, it can’t be chalked off for an accidental handball.
Goal? Sean Longstaff drills home on the rebound from Trippier’s cross – but there’ll be a VAR check for a Bruno Guimarães handball, which diverted the ball into Longstaff’s path.
36 mins: There’s a break in play while Harry Wilson, who has been a bright spark for Fulham, gets treatment for a sore shoulder.
“May I nominate, ‘that wasn’t too far wide’ and its ilk for an off-target (aka too far wide) attempt?” asks Geoff Wignall. You may, Geoff.
@niallmcveigh Overused football phrase: X “was first to react.” This is almost never true, it’s just that the ball came to him.
— Zachary Roth (@zackroth) January 27, 2024
34 mins: Another Fulham free kick in a dangerous spot, and another decent Wilson delivery – this time nodded clear of danger by Dan Burn.
32 mins: Close again from Muniz! The Brazilian turns sharply in the area and shoots, but Dan Burn gets enough of a deflection to send it spinning wide of the post.
30 mins: Isak – who does look like he’s lurking without intent at times – latches on to a through ball, accelerates past Ream and tries to go around Rodak, but runs out of room. A shot on goal, even from a tight angle, was probably the better option there.
29 mins: Having been on the back foot for much of the last 20 minutes, Newcastle are trying to get something going in attack. Ream’s loose pass ought to help, but he is able to make amends by cutting out Murphy’s attempted pass to Isak.
26 mins: Pereira looks for Reed, who has been pushing forward from central midfield down the right flank – but the pass is overhit, to much frustration all round.
“I’m not a fan of ‘leave it all on the pitch’,” writes Peter Oh. “It goes without saying, really, and frankly it sounds like an invitation to litter.”
@niallmcveigh “It was always”, as in “it was always going wide”. Something about the claimed omniscience of this really irks me. Also, when the co-comms is talking about an incident and coverage cuts to the manager. The co-comm always then adds “And HE knows this”. How the hell ?
— Robert Walnut (@bobbywalnut) January 27, 2024
25 mins: Fulham corner, cleared by Schär who has the chance to send Bruno away on the break – but Robinson gets across and intercepts with a risky, but well-timed tackle.