Bobby De Cordova Reid belter eases Fulham to victory over limited Millers

This was a kind of non game. It washed over Craven Cottage, leaving little impression on anyone present. There was no intensity, no jeopardy and no hint of Rotherham causing an unlikely upset. Their sole aim was damage limitation and they at least succeeded on that front, albeit without making any pretence of actually trying to end Fulham’s interest in the FA Cup.

It was all understandable enough. Rotherham are bottom of the Championship, seven points off Huddersfield Town in 21st place, and have three wins in the league all season. They could be forgiven for allowing realism to trump romance. Perhaps Leam Richardson’s side even regarded a 1 0 defeat against mid table Premier League opposition as a kind of moral triumph.

Even so it was still Fulham who went through to the fourth round after cruising through this exercise in attack v defence. They were able to play within themselves, Bobby De Cordova Reid’s belting early goal enough to ease Marco Silva’s side to victory, and welcomed the chance to save their legs before the rather more strenuous task of a Carabao Cup semi final against Liverpool.

Tommy Doyle strikes to earn ten man Wolves replay with Brentford Read more Silva wanted to keep his team fresh before they travel to Anfield for the first leg of the semi final on Wednesday. While this was not a game to toss away, Fulham could hardly be accused of disrespecting the cup by leaving out most of their regulars.

Nobody seriously expected them to have problems dispatching opponents as limited as Rotherham, even with Bernd Leno rested in goal, Calvin Bassey absent in defence and João Palhinha, Raúl Jiménez, Willian and Antonee Robinson on the bench only in case of emergency. Silva had to trust that Rodrigo Muniz, handed a rare start, was capable of coping in place of Jiménez up front.

The statistics haunting Rotherham pointed in only one direction. Even the 700 hardy souls in the away end could not seriously have expected their side to pick up their first win on the road in 29 attempts and halt a run that stretches back to November 2022. Jordan Hugill sending a tame header wide from a long throw during the opening exchanges was not to be mistaken for a sign of boldness from Rotherham.

Their plan was so limited they barely made it out of their half during the first 20 minutes, by which point the visitors had enjoyed only 16% of the possession. Fulham were dominant, if a little blunt at first, but they were ahead after 24 minutes. Perhaps eager to get a feel for the ball, Sebastian Revan became casual when he received possession inside the Rotherham area.

The press came, Harry Wilson dispossessing Revan, and the shot from De Cordova Reid was enough to make any defender think twice about dawdling on the ball. Viktor Johansson, Rotherham’s goalkeeper, had no chance of saving the winger’s rising effort from 20 yards. The frustration for Silva, though, had to be Fulham’s inability to kill the game before half time.

Rotherham might even have been level, only for Hugill to have a goal disallowed for offside after turning in a wayward shot from Tom Eaves. Fulham needed to negate Rotherham’s stifling tactics by offering more intensity and speed in the final third. Andreas Pereira prodded against a post from Kenny Tete’s cross and Muniz was denied on the follow up but openings were rare.

There were times when Fulham looked short of ideas against opponents who were content to put 10 men behind the ball. Pereira, scheming in the No10 role, could not quite find his range. Muniz needed to be stronger. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Football Daily Free daily newsletter Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties.

For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Fulham glimpsed the benefits of upping the pace when Wilson drifted in from the right at the start of the second half and found Timothy Castagne.

Harrison Reed was unfortunate not to convert the left back’s low cross. The strain began to show on Rotherham, an error from Johansson almost gifting Muniz a goal. Tosin Adarabioyo went close with a powerful header, Johansson saving well. Pereira kept himself entertained with a fairly pointless backheel on the right flank.

He tried to score direct from a corner. At least the home fans seemed to appreciate the Brazilian’s ambition. Sensing sleepiness, Silva introduced Tom Cairney, Robinson, Willian, and Carlos Vinícius, who wasted a late chance on the break. Rotherham had tried to mount late pressure and at least managed to win a few set pieces.

There was nothing in the way of an actual shot on target, though. Fulham’s goalkeeper, Marek Rodak, will rarely have a quieter night..