Fulham 0-1 Southampton

James Ward-Prowse's first-half goal was enough to see Southampton progress into the fourth round of the FA Cup at Fulham.

The Saints midfielder latched on to a rebound off Fulham's Kevin McDonald to shoot past David Button.

Jack Stephens headed against the bar for the Premier League side, but Fulham responded strongly with Lucas Piazon and Denis Odoi going close.

The result ends a run of nine without a win for Mauricio Pellegrino's side.

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Oliver Norwood headed wide for the home side late on, while substitute Manolo Gabbiadini skied a shot over the bar when one-on-one with Button in stoppage time.

It was just the second away win for Southampton since Pellegrino took over last summer, and ended Fulham's run of four straight wins at Craven Cottage.

Saints end poor run - just

With defenders Jeremy Pied, Wesley Hoedt and Cedric Soares all absent through injury, Pellegrino made just two changes to the team that had lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace on Tuesday.

Striker Charlie Austin also missed out with a hamstring problem, so Pellegrino seemed to be trusting his strongest available side to end their recent poor run.

They settled quickly and, after Shane Long had a goal ruled out for offside in the 10th minute, took control until Ward-Prowse struck.

Stephens was unmarked inside the six-yard area when the defender rose to meet a flick-on from Jan Bednarek, but his header struck the underside of the bar and bounced away from danger to leave the 23-year-old still searching for his first Southampton goal.

That, and Gabbiadini's missed chance, made for an uncomfortable last few minutes for Pellegrino, who will switch his focus back to a much-needed Premier League win when his side travel to Watford next Saturday.

Southampton's only previous away win under Mauricio Pellegrino was at Crystal Palace on 16 September

Fulham fail to make the most of rare chances

Slavisa Jokanovic guided Fulham to the Championship play-offs and the fifth round of the FA Cup in 2016-17, his only full season in charge at Craven Cottage so far.

They are just four points from the play-off places, and five changes to the side that beat Ipswich 4-1 on Tuesday suggested that Jokanovic was prioritising Fulham's tilt at the top six.

However, one of those to make the cut was Ryan Sessegnon, who showed glimpses of why Manchester United are said to lead a list of clubs interested in the 17-year-old, who helped England win the Under-19 European Championships in 2017.

Fulham's Belgian defender Denis Odoi reacts after missing his chance to equalise in the second half at Craven Cottage

Officially a defender but with seven goals to his name this season, Sessegnon was one of Fulham's main threats going forward and his free-kick into the Southampton area just before half-time deserved a better finish than Tim Ream's off-target header.

The same could be said for his cross to Norwood, which was Fulham's last chance to earn something from this game.

Fulham were much improved after the break, with Piazon letting a low cross go between his feet as he shaped to shoot and Odoi hooking a shot on the turn just over Alex McCarthy's crossbar.

The draw for the fourth round takes place on Monday, 8 January, and will be live on BBC Two from 19:00 GMT.

What the managers said

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic: "It was 50-50 at the end. They showed in one situation some Premier League quality, they scored the goal, they won the game. My team tried to dominate the game with the ball.

"You always need to score to win the game. We played against a Premier League team, we must be clinical in some moments. We didn't make more of what we made, but in one moment they showed the quality and won the game.

"We are where we are. In this moment for us this competition is over, and we look at the next step."

Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino: "It is an important result for us and we have taken a step forward in this competition, and can hopefully use this game as a base to improve every single week."