Title: Southampton F.C. Stun Fulham F.C. with Late Penalty to Reach FA Cup Quarter-finals Date Published: 09 March 2026 Description: Championship side Southampton F.C. pulled off a dramatic upset after defeating Premier League club Fulham F.C. to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in four years.Substitute Ross Stewart emerged the hero, converting a stoppage-time penalty at Craven Cottage to seal a hard-fought victory. Stewart blasted the spot-kick past goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte moments after the regulation 90 minutes, extending Southampton’s unbeaten run to 10 matches across all competitions.The decisive moment came when referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot after Finn Azaz was brought down in the penalty area by Joachim Andersen. Stewart confidently struck the ball inside the left post, giving head coach Tonda Eckert’s side a memorable victory.Fulham had earlier thought they had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Rodrigo Muniz tapped the ball into an empty net after a goal-kick from Daniel Peretz ricocheted off teammate Ryan Manning. However, the referee had already blown for a retake, ruling the ball was still moving when the kick was taken.The hosts, managed by Marco Silva, had made nine changes to their starting lineup following their recent Premier League defeat to West Ham United F.C., hoping to give fringe players an opportunity in the cup tie.Both teams created chances in an open contest. Fulham’s Oscar Bobb tested Peretz early with a curling effort, while Southampton forward Leo Scienza impressed with a lively display but narrowly missed the target.Fulham also had another effort ruled out in the 54th minute when Andersen, judged to be offside from a free-kick, headed the ball down for Timothy Castagne to score.Despite dominating the statistics with 24 shots and six on target, Fulham failed to make their pressure count. Southampton, who managed only five shots with three on target, made their decisive chance count through Stewart’s late penalty.The victory marks a remarkable turnaround for Southampton under Eckert, who took charge in November when the club was struggling in 21st position in the Championship. Since then, the team has surged up the  table and now finds itself both pushing for the play-offs and celebrating a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Attached Images: 873df823cf02bd0d667cb77165bed0bf87b8d7dab4d00a8e7b1f45227e773a9a.jpg Attached Video: None