'We felt that' - Marco Silva makes Everton fans claim after Fulham penalty shootout victory
Marco Silva told of his delight as Fulham created history by reaching the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the first time after edging past Everton on penalties.
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Hide AdThe Toffees exited the competition at the last-eight stage at Goodison Park. The tie ended a 1-1 draw at 90 minutes, with substitute Beto equalising for Everton after Michael Keane's first-half own goal gave Fulham the lead.
It was the Cottagers who held their nerve from the penalty spot as they earned a 7-6 triumph - with Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gana Gueye missing for Sean Dyche's side.
It means former Everton manager Silva has won on all three occasions when returning to Goodison. The Portuguese was well aware of the noise Blues fans can create and spoke of his pride that the London outfit are potentially 180 minutes from a Wembley appearance.
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Hide AdFulham boss Silva said: "We are all delighted, no doubt about it. It was clear that our aim was to go through and we knew it was going to be really tough, a proper cup tie. I know what it means to play at Goodison when they are in a good moment, in good form and everybody is on the same page.
"We felt that tonight. Even in the moments that, more first half the second half was more difficult, more first half we kept more of the ball and played more in our way. I felt the home support was always there and I know it can lift them at any time, they can be struggling and lift them. Even after 1-0, the support was always there. Better first half, second half we struggled a bit, we were not able to keep the ball and gave the ball away many times.
"They sustained the pressure, a lot of direct game, first and second balls. We did control the low block a little bit I like to see, other times it was more difficult. I believe we defended our box well until one moment when I was preparing a tactical change. I really believe at 1-1 we changed the system, started to control it a little bit more and the game started.
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Hide Ad"Chances for us and them, it was really intense in the last 10 minutes and a proper cup tie. In a tense evening, our players kept their composure in a shootout, which is always a really tough moment. When you play away from home, I know what it means at the end and the players kept their composure. It's not easy to keep the composure and penalty quality until that moment and congratulations to the players."
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