Two goals from Andy Johnson earned Fulham a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Striker scores twice to sink plucky Wednesday
Two goals from Andy Johnson earned Fulham a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday.
Johnson put the Premier League side ahead after only 11 minutes at Hillsborough and struck in equally clinical fashion three minutes from the end.
Plucky Wednesday, who were without 10 players through injury, had their moments in an entertaining third-round tie and drew level thanks to a wonder goal from defender Tommy Spurr.
But they faded badly in the final quarter and have now not gone past the third round of the cup for eight years.
The Championship club were the first to threaten, thanks to a penetrating run from loan midfielder Lewis Buxton, whose cross found the recalled Jermaine Johnson but his shot struck the legs of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and rebounded to safety.
A fine run from right winger Wade Small then forced Paul Konchesky to concede the first corner as Wednesday continued to make all the running in a lively opening and the breakthrough came strictly against the run of play.
Fulham captain Danny Murphy split the home defence with a delightful through-ball for Johnson to clinically slot home past keeper Lee Grant.
Dangerous
The Owls were far from outclassed, however, and drew level on 20 minutes when a snap shot from 35 yards by left-back Spurr screamed past the outstretched hand of Schwarzer into the net.
Fulham looked the more dangerous side, with Dickson Etuhu's crisp shot thundering against the bar while Gray curled the ball just inches over the crossbar.
It was an open game, though, and Wednesday missed a glorious opportunity to go in front on 32 minutes when the lively Small threaded a pass through to Boden and he sent over a cross for Johnson, whose header sailed a foot over the bar.
Francis Jeffers then carved out another clear-cut opportunity for Johnson, whose right-footed shot disappointingly failed to test Schwarzer.
The end-to-end action continued in the second half and Murphy had to work overtime at the heart of the Fulham defence to keep the plucky Yorkshiremen at bay.
There were increasing signs that both sides were prepared to settle for a draw, although Fulham had the better chances in the final quarter.
Dempsey forced two saves from Grant while Erik Nevland, a second-half substitute for Bobby Zamora, was forced to admonish himself after ballooning a shot high over the bar.
The breakthrough finally came courtesy of Nevland's cross, which was struck home by Johnson with his second clinical finish of the match.
| Team Name |
Sheffield Wednesday |
Fulham |
| Possession |
46% |
54% |
| Goals |
1 |
2 |
| Shots On Target |
6 |
9 |
| Shots Off Target |
4 |
5 |
| Blocked Shots |
2 |
2 |
| Corners |
3 |
6 |
| Fouls Conceded |
10 |
9 |
| Offsides |
1 |
2 |
| Yellow Cards |
1 |
0 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
