Cooper rues 'cruel' defeat

Two goals in the last four minutes from Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora gave Fulham a 4-2 victory over the Blue Square Premier side in a dramatic fourth-round tie at Rockingham Road. Craig Westcarr had scored twice for Kettering, once from the penalty spot after Fulham defender Brede Hangeland had brought him down.

Cooper said: "The players are sick. They're gutted. They should have won. They deserved to win but it's a cruel, cruel game."

He added: "We missed numerous chances. But it was an unbelievable performance against a Premier League side. It will be a long time before another non-league team puts in a better show against the big boys."

Cooper believed referee Mike Riley should have sent off Hangeland, instead of handing out a yellow card for the foul on Westcarr which led to the penalty. But he also admitted his goalkeeper Lee Harper had made the mistake which saw Johnson score with a header four minutes from time.

Cooper, however, was convinced the pulsating tie proved that television had got it wrong when they decided to snub it.

He said: "I bet they wish they had come here now. It shows the cup is not about Manchester United against Tottenham and Cardiff against Arsenal. It's about non-league teams on their own ground taking on the big boys."

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, who saw midfielder Jimmy Bullard leave for Hull this week, was just grateful to have come through what was the trickiest of cup ties in which Simon Davies scored the opening goal with a terrific volley.

He said: "A draw here would have been a defeat in our minds. But the players showed they have enough fight and character to come back and win a game when at 2-2 we were fearing the worst.

"But we've still had just one defeat in 13 and we have to take a lot of pride from that. The players had to dig deep and while it wasn't the fun occasion some might have dreamt of, it was a thoroughly professional performance."