Following a 1-1 draw at Adams Park on Tuesday, Fulham had to defeat third-tier Wycombe in a penalty shootout to advance to the League Cup quarterfinals. Against his old team, Marco Silva’s team fell behind after a rocket from Cauley Woodrow in the fourth minute. Josh King scored his first goal in senior football in the 48th minute to give the Cottagers, who have never won the League Cup, an equalizer. In the closing seconds, Anders Hagelskjaer cleared Kevin’s shot off the line as Wycombe held firm under intense pressure from Fulham.
Fulham lost two chances to win the shootout when Wycombe keeper Will Norris denied Ryan Sessegnon and Jonah Kusi-Asare.
However, the home team was unable to capitalize, as Issa Diop scored the game-winning goal after Donnell McNeilly’s kick was saved.
With their victory, Fulham snapped a four-game losing streak that had dropped them to 17th place in the Premier League.
With a 5-0 thumping of Grimsby, Brentford joined their west London neighbors in the round of eight, capping the giant-killers’ incredible run in the competition.
In the second round, the fourth-tier Mariners shocked Manchester United, and in the third round, they eliminated Sheffield Wednesday of the Championship.
Despite making nine changes from the squad that surprised Premier League winners Liverpool 3-2 on Saturday, the Bees swiftly took charge before halftime, defeating Grimsby by two goals in five first-half minutes.
At Blundell Park, Reiss Nelson successfully ended the tie before halftime, Keane Lewis-Potter headed home a second, and Mathias Jensen opened the score with a 20-yard shot.
The thrashing was completed by replacement Nathan Collins heading in the fifth goal and Fabio Carvalho adding Brentford’s fourth goal from the penalty spot in the second half.
Keith Andrews’ team was able to advance to their first-ever major cup final thanks to the victory.
“There is fierce competition for spots, and we have exceptional strength and depth. And the guys push each other every day, so I think they know that,” Andrews added.
“Whatever the game will be in the quarter-finals, we’ll pick the team we feel will be right to hopefully progress.”
In the all-Welsh match at the Racecourse Ground, Championship team Wrexham was defeated by Will Fish’s volley, which sent third-tier Cardiff to the quarterfinals.
Yousef Salech gave Cardiff the lead in the 13th minute, but Kieffer Moore, a substitute for Wrexham, tied the score in the 52nd minute against his old team.
However, Fish’s goal in the 71st minute gave Cardiff the bragging rights in their first encounter in twenty-one years, so they were not to be denied.
For the first time since they advanced to the 2011–12 championship game, the Bluebirds are in the quarterfinals.
Brian Barry-Murphy, the manager of Cardiff City, stated, “It was really pleasing for us as a young squad to handle the equalizer and react the way we did.
“The club’s nature is emotional; when we perform well and win games, it feels like nothing can stop us.”
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