Fulham 2-1 Norwich: Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi on target in hard-fought Carabao Cup win
Goals from Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi were enough for Marco Silva’s men who responded well after the weekend’s lacklustre 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Fulham found success early on down the left flank through Willian and Fode Ballo-Toure, who created a 10th-minute chance for Vinicius that the striker headed over.
Vinicius justified a run out after his winner against Luton two weeks ago and he opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
Willian’s floated delivery found Iwobi at the back stick and he headed it across goal to Vinicius who tapped home.
Silva had called for more chances to be created during games and Fulham did just that through Harry Wilson, Willian and Tom Cairney.
Norwich responded and fluffed a golden chance to level against the run of play in the 19th minute when Przemyslaw Placheta’s driven cross fell kindly to Tony Springett, who dragged his shot wide.
Minutes later Norwich’s whipped corner found the head of towering centre-back Jaden Warner and Marek Rodak saved.
A neat switch from Wilson in the 39th minute resulted in the ball being played back in the other direction to Vinicius who should of doubled his tally from six yards.
The tide changed after half-time and it was Norwich’s turn to put pressure on the hosts. It started with Sam McCallum who beautifully slalomed through white shirts before firing wide.
In the 51st minute, Kellen Fisher let fly from outside the box but his effort clipped the outside of Rodak’s post as Norwich were denied any rewards for their attacking flurry.
Craven Cottage demanded more and on the hour Silva’s men threw numbers forward in an effort to firm their grip on the tie.
Willian, who was the standout player for the hosts, delivered a floated corner which fell to the unmarked Wilson who sweetly volleyed past goalkeeper George Long before Adam Forshaw managed a last-ditch clearance off the line to keep it at 1-0.
But Fulham doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. Iwobi drove forward with the ball and combined with Wilson before the Nigerian guided the ball into the bottom corner to open his Fulham account. But typical of the end-to-end game, Norwich equalised after 75 minutes through Borja Sainz.
The explosive Adam Idah burst away on a counter-attack and found Sainz whose first attempt was denied by Rodak before he managed to bundle the ball into the net to give the Norfolk side hope.
Despite Norwich’s best efforts Fulham held their nerve during five minutes added time to seal victory.
