Rodriguez ends wait for goal in Burnley cruise

Rodriguez 31, 71, Long 81

Perhaps in homage to the red buses running past a freezing Craven Cottage, Jay Rodriguez – goalless in his previous 19 outings – helped himself to a brace as Burnley eased into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Their 3-0 victory, sealed with a rare Kevin Long strike, will not attract the headlines of Thursday’s Anfield ambush but Sean Dyche will take a great deal of satisfaction from their work in west London.

In front of new chairman Alan Pace, watching for the first time since his ALK group completed its takeover this month, Burnley controlled a potentially difficult encounter despite making nine changes. Having seen his goal-shy side score three for the first time this season, Dyche was delighted.

“The collective did their thing today,” he said. “There was a great feeling before it kicked off. You could sense it. Their attitude was fantastic.”

The pitch was tricky, a throwback to surfaces of old, sodden and squelching following the early afternoon snow.

It suited Burnley’s more direct approach, second-string strike pair Rodriguez and Matej Vydra giving a much-changed Fulham defence a torrid afternoon.

In the 31st minute, Burnley took the lead their dominance deserved. Rodriguez fed Jack Cork out wide, before getting on the end of a wonderful whipped cross to end the longest drought of his career.

Watching on with envy was Aleksandar Mitrovic, who thought he had broken his own barren run minutes before. Nodding home after

Aboubakar Kamara’s flick had bounced up, he turned to see the flag raised. Kamara was deemed offside in the build-up despite Bobby Decordova-reid’s centre coming off a claret shirt. Mitrovic let out an anguished yelp.

Vydra then wasted a good opportunity after an error from Tim Ream but he atoned minutes later when, perhaps inevitably given the way the centre-back’s afternoon was going, Michael Hector brought him down in the box.

Rodriguez stroked the penalty down the middle, and a home tie with either Bournemouth or Crawley was secured 10 minutes later when Long slotted home from close range.

“We fell very short of the standards we are used to seeing,” admitted forlorn Fulham manager Scott Parker. “We all understood the challenges we would face and couldn’t deal with it.”