Disley dumps sorry Cottagers out of cup

Bristol Rovers 0 Fulham 0 (aet Rovers win 5-3 on pens)

After 120 minutes of play failed to produce a goal, the third-round tie was decided by the lottery of a shoot-out, with Disley taking advantage of its only miss, by Jimmy Bullard, whose shot was saved by the excellent Steve Phillips.

Fulham were almost fatally undone three minutes before the break when Chris Lines got the better of Chris Baird down the left and fed David Pipe but Fulham keeper Warner pulled off a top-class block.

Rovers attacked relentlessly after the restart. Danny Coles’ header clipped the top of the bar and Dejan Stefanovic had to get in the way of a Lines drive before the Rovers winger fluffed the next opportunity.

Healy almost broke the deadlock on the hour mark with an audacious flick up and volley from 25 yards but Rovers goalkeeper Phillips reacted smartly to palm it away with a dive to his left.

Neither side was able to fashion a decisive chance before the end of 90 minutes, although Fulham needed Moritz Volz to block a Lines effort on the line.

Dejan Stefanovic, who had been booked near the end of normal time, received a second yellow just before end and could take no part in the shoot-out.

Lines scored Rovers’ first but Bullard’s reply was saved.

With everyone else finding the net, up stepped Disley and he made no mistake to put Rovers through by a 5-3 scoreline.

BRISTOL ROVERS: Phillips, Lescott, Hinton, Elliott (Disley 21), Jacobson, Pipe, Campbell, Coles, Lines, Williams (Rigg 97), Lambert.

FULHAM: Warner, Baird, Bocanegra, Stefanovic, Konchesky, Volz, Bullard, Hughes, Brown (Ki-Hyeon 91), Healy, Dempsey.

Referee: Martin Atkinson.