MARCO Silva said Fulham fulfilled their “obligation” and “did enough” after just about avoiding a major shock as goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte’s penalty heroics helped his side past League One Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night and into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
The Cottagers scored their first four penalties in the shootout before Chairboys goalkeeper Will Norris denied Ryan Sessegnon and Jonah Kusi-Asare.
But 34-year-old Lecomte – who joined on a free transfer from Montpellier in the summer – went one better with saves from Ewan Henderson, Fred Onyedinma and Donnell McNeilly.
That gave Issa Diop the chance to win it, and he beat Norris to send Fulham through 5-4.
The hosts had gone ahead through Cauley Woodrow in the fourth minute before Josh King’s 48th-minute equaliser.
It was welcome respite for Fulham, who are seventeenth in the Premier League after just two wins in their opening nine games.
“Our obligation was to be in the next round. Throughout the game we did enough,” Silva said.
“We knew we had to be positive and keep positivity around ourselves because these types of things happen, where the first shot on target was a goal.
“That’s football, and I told the players at half-time that sometimes things come against us and we have to face it in the best way we can.
“The first half was not at a good level but we did create some chances, [though] not clear-cut chances. We didn’t suffocate them like we should.
“Second half, we pushed them back and created six or seven clear chances to score. When you create like we created in the second half, we have to put the ball in the back of the net. We have to be clinical, we have to be ruthless.
“We aim really high in this competition. We didn’t hide.”
Fulham host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league this Saturday at 3pm.
Silva said: “The results haven’t been good enough for us, even in difficult circumstances and against some difficult opposition as well. But we have been very, very competitive, even in difficult moments. I’m sure that when we have the full squad available, we’re going to be much stronger.
“Many, many things are coming against us. Our words are not going to be enough. We have to work, keep working to be positive.
“In this moment, the confidence is not something you can buy anywhere. We need all of us even more together, and our fans with the team as well.”
