Fulham FC

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• Founded:1879
• Manager:Mark Hughes

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Hodgson hails ten-man Reds

24 Jan 2010 - 11:27:33

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Fulham boss Roy Hodgson admitted his players had struggled to cope with the conditions before they ran out 3-1 FA Cup winners over League Two side Accrington Stanley.

Goals from Erik Nevland, Damien Duff and Zoltan Gera saw off ten-man Stanley at compact the Crown Ground.

However, Hodgson admitted the 42nd-minute dismissal of Darran Kempson for the League Two club proved decisive.

"I was pleased with the second half but we were aided and abetted by the fact that they had a player sent off," he said.

"They did go out and set about their task in a very aggressive manner so it wasn't a surprise to see a few yellow cards. I suppose it was fortunate for us that they went to the same player.

"In the first half they mastered the conditions and were aware of the conditions more than we were and it took us a while to get used to the fact that it was going to be very difficult to play the ball through midfield.

"When we started to get hold of the ball in midfield we started to cause them enormous problems and in the end the 3-1 victory was fully deserved."