Eckert praises travelling fans in FA Cup triumph
Southampton Head Coach Tonda Eckert credited the travelling supporters as a vocal away end roared his side to the FA Cup quarter-finals in dramatic, late style.
Saints impressed against their Premier League opponents and could have led at the break, before they were forced to defend well in the second half under increased pressure.
Their resilience payed off as a stoppage time penalty was awarded when Finn Azaz was fouled by Joachim Andersen, which allowed substitute Ross Stewart to step up and emphatically power the ball home and seal progression into the last eight.
Reflecting on the milestone result after celebrating with the Saints supporter, Eckert said: "We had our charity event on Friday, and you just get a sense of how much it means to the club, to the supporters, and you arrive here today and the whole street is full of supporters.
"When you get off the coach and you come into the stadium, the whole end behind the goal is full of Southampton supporters. You just feel that this game was something special for us today, and I think we managed to do this quite well over the 90 minutes."
"I'm quite happy that Taylor [Harwood-Bellis] won the toss today because, you know how it is, we knew that we were probably going to have some moments, especially in the second half, where we need to defend in front of our fans.
"Especially when they start making substitutions and then they bring some energy on us - it's a quality team, Fulham - I think especially in those moments, first half as well, yes, but especially in the second half when you then have to defend a little bit deeper it's just so important when you defend in front of your fans that you manage to suffer a little bit more in some moments, and I think that's what got us the clean sheet today.
"We came from a moment where it was not so easy to win football games, then you win one, but you need to win again and again and again. The only way to do that is that you have a big belief in what you do, a big belief in the quality that we have on the pitch, and then it doesn't really matter wherever you go and who you play.
"You just always need to have that confidence that you're able to win a game, and I think that showed today."
