- Muniz opened the scoring with a diving header before Jonny Smith's stunner
- The Brazilian striker reached the end of an intelligent pass by Andreas Pereira for his second
- Listen now: Everything is starting! Does Premier League really need to look at goal celebrations?
Given Fulham's history to stumble when they arrive at the fourth round of the FA Cup, they would have been forgiven for thinking that this trip to Wigan was ready to crumble when Jonny Smith chose the upper corner five minutes in the second half.
It was Wigan's first shot in the target, only his second attempt in the whole game to that point, and yet it flew directly from the Smith boot and passed Steven Benda in Fulham's goal. Wigan took off and Fulham's nerves were together.
“We do not hide, we know it is one of the most difficult competitions in the world,” said Fulham Chief Marco Silva.
The Cottagers had only passed the fourth round in the tournament on one occasion in the last seven campaigns before the start. There are defeats in Southampton, Oldham Athletic, Man City, Burnley, Man City Again and Newcastle United in that sterile race.
Silva knows his story and still risked to make 10 changes to the side that beat Newcastle United the last time. Timothy Castagne was the only survivor.
They started so strong, making this quickly a training game where they managed to get as high as having 91 percent of the ball.
Rodrigo Muniz scored an orthopedic device when Fulham advanced in the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over Wigan
Ryan Sessegnon's left wing cross was accurate to meet Muniz's diving head 23 minutes in
Jonny Smith snuggled in a surprising tie for Wigan shortly after the break
Without an apparently available exit ball, Wigan wilt early and Fulham broke the point of dead when the left wing cross of Ryan Sessegnon was in his view to meet Rodrigo Muniz's diving head 23 minutes.
“We had two or three opportunities to kill the game and we did not do it and, of course, when the game is 1-0, anything can happen and believe,” said Silva.
That lack of murderous instinct allowed Wigan to retire to the locker room in the part -time with an opportunity to hit.
And when Smith snuggled in that surprising equalizer for his third goal of the Cup FA of the season, the magic of this competition threatened to convert this extremely unilateral contest into a real battle.
But the 'Samba Boys' of Pereira and Muniz de Fulham put any tension or drama when the top of the top of the first allowed Muniz to pass the friction of Sam Tickle through his orthopedic device.
“All the sensation of the club was completely different, today it felt like the club that knew a long time ago,” said Wigan Chief Shaun Maloney, in the light of this spirit of defeat.
“I want that feeling and this is something that I have not had good with fans of where we are at this time, trying to rebuild.”
Muniz reached the end of an intelligent pass by Andreas Pereira for his second of the day