Fulham entered the fifth round of the FA Cup with ambitions of advancing to the latter stages, but their hopes were dented by a surprising 1–0 defeat to Southampton at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.
The Saints progressed to the quarterfinals after Ross Stewart struck a stoppage-time penalty to secure a memorable win over the Cottagers.
Referee Jarred Gillett awarded a spot kick to Southampton after Finn Azaz was brought down by Fulham centre-back Joachim Andersen in the box.
Rodrigo Muniz and Timothy Castagne had the ball in the back of the net but saw their efforts ruled out.
Although it was an important cup game, Fulham boss Marco Silva made nine changes to the team that lost 1-0 to West Ham United, two of which saw Nigeria internationals Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey named on the substitutes bench.
However, Samuel Chukwueze, who went the distance against the Hammers, retained his place in the starting lineup.
Silva acknowledged that the performance fell below expectations but insisted the result could not be blamed on his decision to rotate players.
In quotes relayed by The BBC, the Portuguese tactician said: "I understand that, it's more than that. It was a bad afternoon for us and for our fans. We need to look deeper because I'm not pleased at all what has happened this afternoon.
"This one is more than a defeat - if it's because of the changes then fine, I get it - but [Ryan] Sessegnon and [Timothy] Castagne have played this season against top Premier League sides, Oscar Bobb and Samuel Chukwueze are at the level.
"We have to look deeper. I understand that I get the blame for making the changes."
Super Eagles midfielder Iwobi came off the bench to replace Tom Cairney in the 65th minute, while Bassey was an unused substitute.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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