Rodrigo Muniz’s brace helped Fulham survive a tricky test at Wigan, sealing their place in the FA Cup fifth round.
On the 50th anniversary of their only appearance in the final, the Cottagers kept their hopes alive and extended their unbeaten streak against the Latics to 20 games with a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
Muniz’s first-half header gave Fulham the lead before Jonny Smith’s brilliant strike early in the second half brought Wigan level. However, Muniz responded with a decisive finish to secure victory for Marco Silva’s side.
The breakthrough came when Ryan Sessegnon whipped in a cross from the left. Muniz, under pressure from Luke Robinson, met it with a diving header that sailed back across goal, delighting the 2,102 travelling Fulham fans.
The visitors nearly doubled their lead moments later, with Martial Godo, who was on loan at Wigan last season, racing clear but firing just wide.
Wigan had offered little going forward until Smith produced a moment of brilliance five minutes into the second half. Collecting an overhit cross, he cut inside and curled a stunning 25-yard left-footed shot beyond Benda, igniting the home crowd.
The Latics’ joy was short-lived as Andreas Pereira’s clever first-time pass set up Muniz to blast past Wigan goalkeeper Tickle just five minutes later.
Despite the setback, Wigan fought back admirably. Jason Kerr headed wide from a corner, and Ronan Darcy bent an effort narrowly off target. Issa Diop was also forced into a desperate intervention, turning a cross over his own bar.
Scott Smith and Owen Dale both tested Benda, who also breathed a sigh of relief when Darcy failed to connect cleanly after the keeper wandered out of position.
Wigan thought they had equalized in stoppage time, but the linesman’s flag ruled out Darcy’s goal.
Fulham boss Marco Silva said, “Great competition between him [Muniz] and Raul [Jimenez]. It is always good to have two strikers scoring important goals for us.
“When you have a chance to start, you have to step in. And he did it. I made 10 changes and it is not easy.
“I am really pleased for the second goal, we have been working with him and it is something he needs to improve, this type of run and moves. You cannot always play with back to goal.
“The first [goal] is Muniz. He is capable inside the box. Great response and great competition for me to decide the best solution.”
Wigan boss Shaun Maloney reflected on his team’s performance, “We were passive in the first half. Second was the opposite. We couldn’t get enough pressure on them in certain areas.
“The players then had more belief to go toe-to-toe. Second half was brilliant. I understand the gulf between the teams, but it didn’t feel that way in the second half.
“It was just belief. When you’re there to press, press properly. I’d much rather lose by playing the way we did in the second half. It felt like we went toe-to-toe with a Premier League team.
“Today felt like the club I knew many years ago. The biggest takeaway from today is the feeling. I want to feel like that every home game. It felt like the club was moving forward.”
