Fulham 1-2 Derby County
FA Youth Cup Fifth Round Proper
15 February 2005
Craven Cottage

Terry Westley’s Derby County youngsters won a typically frantic, hard-fought FA Youth Cup tie at a chilly Craven Cottage last night. But Fulham, who battled their Midlands visitors to the end, will be hugely disappointed at the circumstances of their exit from the competition.

They had to play for more than half-an-hour a man short after Saheed Sankoh’s absurd dismissal and, having won a penalty in the 87th minute to level at 2-2, had the kick brilliantly saved by Rams hero Ben Kirby.

The opening minutes saw a lot of confrontational play in midfield, which could have produced more than the one booking that went to Fulham striker Sankoh after a tangle with Chris Turner. Up to the 14th minute barely a scoring chance was created and then, suddenly, the visitors went ahead to shock a crowd of more than 500.

Left-winger James Meredith in his silver boots got goalside of the last defender on the edge of the box and, after wriggling free of a half-hearted attempt at pulling him back (which would surely have had the defender seeing red), calmly slotted the ball past the advancing Mark Davidson.

Fulham were showing little in attack and an equaliser looked unlikely until Ismael Ehui, a first-team squad member, produced a moment of magic on 23 minutes.

He had shown only a passing interest in proceedings up until that point but was now working himself a yard of space inside the "D" before rifling a right-footer into the bottom corner.

The home side were now on top but then missed a crucial chance to go 2-1 up on 35 minutes. Kirby dropped Chris James’ cleverly floated free-kick with Sankoh backing into him and centre-back Tom Moncur flicked the ball wide about a yard from the line.

The Rams started the second period at a very high tempo and England Under-18 international Lionel Ainsworth was particularly visible with pacy runs through the middle. Within two minutes his close control had taken him between Moncur and Watts and into a position to shoot low into the far corner for what turned out to be the winner.

Sankoh received a second yellow card on 58 minutes for failing to retreat ten yards from a Derby free-kick and it was a morale-sapping moment for Fulham. With Ainsworth’s trickery turning the defence inside out, another clinching goal for the visitors seemed a certainty.

But Fulham came back well in the last ten minutes, with Ehui playing a succession of dangerous balls into the box, and Derby were struggling to keep them out. With just three minutes on the clock, Ehui was upended and the penalty award by referee Phillips could hardly be disputed.

James, another Under-18 cap this season, sent his kick firmly towards the bottom left-hand corner but Kirby flew across his goal to fist the ball away. An outstanding save had taken the Rams into a quarter-final tie against the winners of the Wolves v Manchester City tie being played next Monday.

One to watch

Lionel Ainsworth, a playing substitute for England’s Under-18s against Scotland just before Christmas, saw little of the ball out on the right in the opening minutes but made a telling contribution after moving into the middle.

He was quick and brave, taking on defenders at every opportunity and invariably finishing with a good shot on target. He scored the winner last night, also struck the top of a post with another blistering effort and had the Fulham ‘keeper scrambling around on several other occasions.

Other ties

Southampton knocked Arsenal out last night, Saints’ 15-year-old winger Theo Walcott scoring the only goal, and there were more than 3,000 at St Mary’s to see it. Middlesbrough, the holders, lost on penalties at Watford and Tottenham edged Everton 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Tonight’s Fifth Round matches are Ipswich v Aston Villa and West Ham v Leyton Orient (both 7.00).