Fulham...3 Birmingham City...1He kept everyone guessing, threatening to don a Frankenstein, a werewolf or even a bear mask, but when the goal came it was his now familiar mask of Zorro that Facundo Sava pulled out of his sock.
The Argentinian did not have long to wait. In the 11th minute, City's Robbie Savage lost the ball in midfield, Sean Davis gave it to Steed Malbranque and he in turn gave it to Sava unmarked on the left.
The striker's confident shot was low, across the goalkeeper Nico Vaesen and into the far bottom corner of the net. Cue to don black mask that has become his trademark.
Twelve minutes later and the game was as good as over. Savage again surrendered possession, this time near his own corner flag, Bjarne Goldbaek surged forward purposefully from the right, the expected challenge failed to materialise and the Dane drove it home.
The result appeared to mean more to Fulham's players than their fans, a mere 9,000 having turned up for what used to be the most exciting round of the Cup.
The home side had won only once in the last nine games, a run that has taken them to fifth from bottom in the league.Fulham were perhaps fortunate to come up against a side so ravaged by injury that five central defenders were missing.
In addition, Aliou Cisse and the former Fulham striker Geoff Horsfield were suspended and Christophe Dugarry not been cleared in time to play, so the Senegalese defender Ferdinand Coly, on loan from Lens, had his first start at right back.
He must have wondered what he had got himself into. Three players had been sent off in the two league meetings between these sides, but Birmingham, notorious as the most bruising side in the Premiership, were remarkable here for their lack of combativeness.
Fulham's simple tactic of lobbing the ball in behind their defence caused them all sorts of problems.
In desperation at half-time Steve Bruce replaced his two strikers Jovan Kirovski and Clinton Morrison with Stern John and the rookie Craig Fagan, but it had little effect.
A mere 45 seconds into the second half, Louis Saha, returning after almost four months out with a hamstring problem to replace the injured top scorer Steve Marlet, was allowed to turn on the edge of the area and he released a gentle shot past Vaesen.
Sava, who might have had a hat-trick, then shot over a gaping net, had a goal disallowed for offside when Savage once more lost the ball, then hit the post only for Davis to hit the rebound against the bar.
All in all it was a satisfying day for the qualified social psychologist who confessed to having been bombarded with masks mailed to him by fans.
John pulled a goal back in injury-time, but it was not enough to impress Bruce.
"We were well beaten," he muttered. "We didn't deserve anything."
FULHAM: Taylor, Finnan, Goma, Djetou, Harley, Goldbaek, Davis, Malbranque, Legwinski (Collins 75), Saha, Sava. Subs Not Used: Herrera, Melville, Willock, Hammond. Goals: Sava 11, Goldbaek 23, Saha 46.
BIRMINGHAM: Vaesen, Kenna, Hutchinson, Coly, Grainger, Devlin (Hughes 68), Savage, Powell, Kirovski (Fagan 45), Morrison (John 45), Damien Johnson. Subs Not Used: Bennett, Woodhouse. Booked: Devlin, Savage. Goals: John 90.
Referee: N Barry (Lincolnshire).
