Symons praises ‘excellent’ Fulham after cup defeat

Fulham manager Kit Symons insisted he was pleased with his side’s performance despite them being knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Stoke.

Peter Crouch’s first-half goal was enough to beat the Whites at Craven Cottage but Symons felt his team relished the experience of testing themselves against Premier League opposition.

“I hate losing at the best of times but if you’re going to lose at least do it like that and have a real go,” Symons said.

“I said to them before the game that this a fantastic night for football. You’re playing against a Premier League team under the lights at Craven Cottage and the pitch is great – these are the nights players have got to love as footballers.

“We were okay at the start but probably gave them too much respect and the goal was unlucky from our point of view.

“But I thought we were excellent in the second half, creating a host of chances, but unfortunately we couldn’t get that finish.”