Player ratings: Fulham 1-1 Sunderland

George Rossiter rates the Fulham performances from the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Fulham will travel to the Stadium of Light for a place in round five after a thrilling cup tie ended 1-1 at the Cottage. A second half equaliser from captain Tom Cairney got Marco Silva’s side back into the game but neither side could find a winner in a frantic end to the game. Credit must go to Tony Mowbray’s young Sunderland side who helped give Fulham a wonderful game, including standouts Patterson, Diallo, Roberts and Ballard.

Marek Rodak

Rodak was certainly not to blame for the Sunderland goal, a calmly placed effort into the back of his net from Jack Clarke. After a fairly shaky opening half an hour where a couple of decisions looked slightly edgy, Rodak remained faultless through to the end. Rodak made a number of second half saves, notably from Diallo and Roberts who both troubled the Fulham defence throughout. 7/10

Kenny Tete

Tete had a relatively quiet first half for his standards, with a couple of crosses coming in that just didn’t quite find their targets like we would normally expect of the Dutchman. His defensive ability was especially important in the second half, with a couple of critical well-timed, last-ditch challenges to prevent dangerous Sunderland efforts. 6.5/10

Issa Diop

Not Diop’s day. It took just six minutes for Issa to be dispossessed for Sunderland’s goal, an error you would not expect from a defender that has regularly imposed himself so well on this Fulham side. Beyond that, Diop’s ball playing also looked extremely off, any pass that tried going forward rather than to Tosin or Rodak, frequently found itself back in Sunderland’s possession. 4.5/10

Tosin

Hopefully something that can become a common theme is Tosin’s slight upturn in composure on the ball of late, which was massively on show at the Cottage with a number of cute touches and passes out of tight areas. Aerially the centre-back was fantastic and played a much more impressive game than the man who is his competition for his a place in the side, Issa Diop. 7.5/10

Layvin Kurzawa

Kurzawa looked a lot more up to the pace of the game from the off here, something that probably could not have been said of his first-half performance at St. James Park. While on the ball and defensively the loanee from PSG looked sound, you can’t ignore the carnage Diallo and Roberts caused on his side of the pitch. 6.5/10

Joao Palhinha

It’s difficult to criticise a player who has been so good this season but Palhinha wasn’t on it, and maybe could have benefited from a rest had Fulham had more depth in midfield. He didn’t play at an intensity we are used to seeing and struggled to have an impact on the game. 5.5/10

Tom Cairney

Really solid performance from the skipper who controlled the tempo of Fulham’s play from the off, as we saw a lot of the ball in the first half especially. His footwork for his goal was prime Tom Cairney, jinking in between multiple Sunderland defenders before finishing well. If Fulham make a cup run out of this campaign, he’ll play a big part. 8/10. – Man of the match

Andreas Pereira

Pereira was extremely unlucky not to send the teams in level at half-time after a stupendous block and save from the combination of Ballard and Patterson on the Sunderland goal-line. His pressing is so vital to the way Fulham play, but as has been previously mentioned in these articles, there is a worry that it effects his energy late in games, he was again less recognisable in the second half today. 7/10

Harry Wilson

You have to start to worry over the form of Wilson. As fans, we all understand that a knee injury is hard to come back from. However, Wilson has now played minutes in all but one game for club and country since the home game against Newcastle on 1 October, and we are still yet to see a ‘decent’ performance, really hoping that changes soon. 5/10

Manor Solomon

The recent cameos of Manor Solomon, on the other hand, are really encouraging. The Israeli winger got a hugely valuable 90 minutes into his legs and you’d think he’ll see a lot more in the future after today’s showing. The speed Solomon plays at with the ball at his feet and when running down the wing is electric, really excited to see more of him in the Premier League. 7.5/10

Carlos Vinicius

Really quiet day for Vinicius unfortunately. The Brazilian struggled to see much of the ball in the hour he played. A couple of nice pieces of link-up play and a swivel and shot in the first half were the only highlights of a relatively anonymous display. 6/10

Substitutes

Aleksandar Mitrovic (64’ for Carlos Vinicius)

Had two or three decent half chances that were well blocked by a mix of Sunderland’s goalkeeper and defence. 6.5/10

Willian (64’ for Harry Wilson)

Unlucky not to score a free kick just after coming on, or from a late rebound, which were both well saved by Patterson. Proved a much bigger threat on the wing for Fulham when he came on. 6.5/10

Bobby De-Cordova Reid (78’ for Tom Cairney)

Didn’t quite get into the game as much as Silva’s other subs managed too, and could and maybe should have won the game, if not for a wonderful 94th minute save from Patterson. 6/10

Harrison Reed (78’ for Joao Palhinha)

Bought a better intensity to Fulham’s midfield at the end of the game, that was potentially missing while Palhinha was on the pitch. 6.5/10