Fulham 2 Bristol Rovers 2: Hodgson seeks to calm Fulham nerves after Rovers fright

If Bristol Rovers can take their slice of FA Cup romance from this result then Fulham must resemble a team in the doghouse, fortunate to be given one more chance to make up for their failings. The Premier League strugglers twice came from behind against a Bristol Rovers side lying 19th in League One, and now must travel to the Memorial Ground for a replay which should expose their commitment to the cause.

Rovers will relish the chance to take on a Premier League side on their own ground, and will bask in the glory it affords them having spent most of the season in the shadow of their local rivals Bristol City. Upon the evidence presented at Craven Cottage it would not be too much of a shock should they emerge victorious in eight days time.

New Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, in only his second game in charge, saw reason to be optimistic despite the result. "We've drawn 2-2 at home against a team two divisions below us and of course nobody involved with Fulham Football Club can tell you they're happy," he said. "At the same time sometimes you have to look a little bit beyond results and see what happened out there on the field and compare that with what has gone on before, while remembering that the players are low on confidence."

Bristol Rovers manager Paul Trollope, who as a player spent five years at Craven Cottage, was unsurprisingly proud of the performance his side produced, which was aided and abetted at every turn by an incredible travelling support of over 7,000, more than half the total number in the ground.

"I'm very proud to have come up against an established Premier League team and to have been in the lead twice," he said, before adding that the "players weren't exactly jubilant" to have come away with only a draw. Unsurprisingly there were periods where Rovers came under intense pressure but their defence, marshalled superbly by Craig Hinton, held firm.

That was not the same in Fulham's case. Their defence gave the first indication of the level of chaos with which they approached most of their duties when Bristol Rovers took the lead with the game just three minutes old. They failed to clear a long throw and the ball eventually found its way to Danny Coles, whose left-footed shot took a huge deflection off Moritz Volz, leaving Antti Niemi helpless in the Fulham goal.

For most of the first half Fulham were a shambles, with only Danny Murphy offering any glimpses of coherence in their play. They managed to equalise five minutes before half-time with a goal owing more to accident than design. Volz retrieved Aaron Lescott's horribly sliced clearance and volleyed across goal where David Healy was on hand to place a header past Steve Phillips in the Rovers goal.

The equaliser seemed to relax Fulham who perhaps believed that their greater class would now shine through. If that was the case they were wrong to put such faith in their abilities. Rovers regained the lead after 65 minutes and again it was a set-piece which caused the problems. A Chris Lines free kick was met powerfully by Hinton, whose header gave Niemi no chance.

Murphy equalised when firing into the top corner with 16 minutes left. Phillips, who made several big saves, got a hand to the shot but could not keep it out. That strike gave Fulham the chance to atone next week. But in front of a passionate home crowd Rovers may not be in the mood to let them have their way.

Goals: Coles (3) 0-1; Healy (40) 1-1; Hinton (65) 1-2; Murphy (74) 2-2.

Fulham (4-4-2): Niemi; Volz (Seol, 73), Bocanegra, Stefanovic, Konchesky; Davies,

Murphy, Smertin (Davis, 73), Bouazza (Baird, 25);Dempsey, Healy. Substitutes not used: Batista (gk), Leijer.

Bristol Rovers (4-4-2): Phillips; Lescott, Hinton, Elliott, Jacobson; Pipe, Coles, Lines, Igoe (Carruthers, 76); Williams (Rigg, 76),

Lambert (Walker, 90). Substitutes not used: Green (gk), Reece.

Referee: K Stroud (Hampshire).

Booked: Fulham Healy Bristol Rovers Jacobson.

Man of the match: Hinton.

Attendance: 13,634.