TOSIN Adarabioyo revealed he had no doubts he would score the decisive penalty which sent Fulham through to the Carabao Cup semi-final at Goodison Park.
The game finished 1-1 in normal time after Michael Keane’s late first-half goal for the Whites was cancelled out by substitute Beto’s 82nd minute header.
Everton were 4-3 up on penalties when Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s attempt was saved by Jordan Pickford, only for Amadou Onana to miss the next one with a poor effort.
Carlos Vinicius kept his nerve to make it 4-4 and set up sudden death and it was Idrissa Gana Gueye who was the first to miss, hitting the post with the scores at 6-6.
Up stepped Adarabioyo as cool as you like in front of the booing Gwladys Street end to beat Pickford and book Marco Silva’s side in the last four.
“Very confident,” replied the defender when asked how he was feeling before taking the spot-kick.
“I think a penalty is a penalty. I’m very confident taking penalties and I was good enough to score.”
Adarabioyo also admitted practicing penalties isn’t a regular occurrence on the training ground, although they did actually do so before the trip to Merseyside.
“Not much,” he said when asked how often they prepare for shootouts.
“We did yesterday but I know how to score them.”
Fulham went into the Everton game looking to respond to Saturday’s 3-0 setback at Newcastle, something they certainly managed to do by booking that semi-final spot.
That defeat in the north-east aside, it has been a good few weeks for the Whites and former Manchester City youngster Adarabioyo will be looking to continue the good run this weekend against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at Craven Cottage, a man he has a lot of respect and admiration for.
“We are all very confident going into games,” said the defender.
“The atmosphere at the training ground is very lively, it’s very good. We go into each game with a lot of confidence to try to get the three points.
“We’ve got a few days prep now so we will look at Burnley. We know it is going to be a tough game.
“They’ve got some great players and a good manager in Vinnie. I’m looking forward to that game.
“I spent a few years with Vinnie. He gave me a lot of advice and he was a great guy.
“He was probably the best captain I’ve played under.”
Adarabioyo may well make no secret of his admiration for Kompany, but his own club manager was just as impressed with him after the Everton game.
Silva said: “He’s a key player for us. He’s one of the leaders in our dressing room.
“He likes to step in in the right moments and he did.
“We missed him a lot in the first three months of the season.
“Issa Diop did really well, but Tosin is a special player for us. I can’t hide that situation.
“The way he can defend the box, and on the ball he’s a special player.
“He can build the way I want to play. He’s just played the last four or five games, and he’s getting better and better.
“A great performance from him tonight and to be able to take the decisive penalty, he deserves all the credit.”
As for Adarabioyo, the man himself has no preference as to who Fulham land in the semi-final draw.
The defender said: “We will see what it is – we will take any game.
“We look forward to the games.
“It is a first semi-final for the club so I’m looking forward to it.”
And can Fulham go on to win the Carabao Cup for the first time in their history?
“Definitely,” said Adarabioyo.
“That’s our ambition. We are going to push to go as far as we can.”
