Marco Silva: Fulham should have killed off FA Cup tie against Wigan
But the Portuguese boss added they should have killed the tie earlier to not leave themselves scrambling to defend a narrow lead.
Fulham struck first through Rodrigo Muniz but quickly saw themselves pegged back by an incredible curling finish from Jonny Smith.
Muniz restored Fulham’s lead when he tucked away a beautiful Andreas Pereira pass, but the last half-hour was one-way traffic as Wigan hunted for an equaliser, even scoring a late goal that was quickly ruled offside.
Fulham have won back to back away games, having defeated Newcastle on the road the previous weekend in the Premier League.
“It was a tough game,” Silva told BBC Match of the Day. “You get nothing as a guarantee at this level. We were the favourites and we showed that throughout the game, but the last 15 minutes we showed them they could fight for something.
“I do not remember one shot from them in the first 45 minutes. We had two or three chances to kill the game and we did not, and of course when the game is 1-0, anything can happen and they have belief.
“It was a great strike for the equaliser but a good reaction from us. When it was time to keep more of the ball in the last 15 minutes, we should have kept it a lot more.
“It was open and we did not want that, because we gave them belief.”
Muniz’ brace complemented a goal against Newcastle to make it three in two for the Brazilian, who has given Silva a selection headache next to fellow number nine Raul Jimenez.
“It has been a great fight between Muniz and Jimenez, great competition, healthy competition.
“Every single day they are trying to help each other, but they know the most important thing is the team. Both are in great form.
“The last game against Newcastle is a good example. It is a good situation for us, so let’s keep working hard with them and it is up to me who starts the next game.”
Silva also credited the support of the travelling fans in helping push his side over the line.
“The fans were here in really good numbers, they know that we take this competition really seriously, it is good to have their support.
“It was another long journey for them and it is nice to see them going back home with a feeling that we did our maximum and we won the game.
“It is really important for people that follow us every single game, this is the first thing for me, to praise them.”
Muniz spoke briefly about his success in the match, including securing the man of the match award thanks to his brace.
“Playing against underdogs is really difficult,” Muniz told Fulham’s official media channel. “We don’t have VAR and Wigan played well today, but we came here to do our job and we were happy.
“It feels great to be given the man of the match award, because I work hard every week to score goals and help my teammates and today was really good.”
PICTURE: ALAMY