Fellaini goal prophecy comes true

Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini told his team-mates he would score before heading in the winner in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Fulham.

The Belgian netted in the 73rd minute of the fourth-round clash at Goodison Park on Friday, giving David Moyes’ side a hard-fought, come-from-behind win.

Everton assistant manager Steve Round said Fellaini had warned pre-match he would find the net against Fulham.

“Felli has had a bit of stick lately because he has had quite a few chances that haven’t gone in,” Round said after the win.

“They have been cleared off the line, he has had headers and goalkeepers have made great saves.”

“He said beforehand that he was definitely going to score today so I think he was proving a point.”

Everton had won just one of their past three home encounters coming into the clash, and looked to be heading for another defeat when Danny Murphy gave Fulham the lead from the penalty spot.

But Denis Stracqualursi equalised in the 27th minute before Fellaini’s second-half winner, and Round said the FA Cup was important to them.

“Our form at home hasn’t been great recently, but we showed character to come from a goal behind, which was a little bit against the run of play,” Round said.

“The cup run definitely gives us confidence. The manager said to the team before the game that Everton have a great history in this competition, and that when you represent Everton, the cups are extremely important.”

Meanwhile, Fulham manager Martin Jol said his side had missed a glorious opportunity to progress to the fifth round.

Everton were without Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka, but Fulham struggled to expose the weakened defence.

“You know it is going to be difficult here but with our quality up front I thought we could have done better,” Jol said.

“We couldn’t exploit our quality on the night. They put us under pressure and we couldn’t find a way around them.”