Sir Alex Ferguson did not repeat the bizarre team selection of last weekend, and to the delight of the home fans named what was probably the strongest line-up available. With Louis Saha cup-tied, Ruud Van Nistelrooy played a solo role up front with five played named across the middle. Paul Scholes, who was the most forward of the midfield, was joined by Nicky Butt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs with Ferguson clearly going for an attacking style of play.

The high number of defensive worries at the club saw skipper Roy Keane forced into the back line, partnering off-form Wes Brown at the heart of the United defence. John O'Shea and Phillip Neville were the full-backs of a United defence that looked shaky for long periods of the game. Keane did not have the best of games at centre-half, and both him and Brown were at fault for giving away the penalty that lead to Fulham opening the scoring. The frailties at the back are rapidly becoming a big problem, and Sir Alex Ferguson will certainly be delighted to welcome back Mikael Silvestre to the fold for Tuesday's European Cup clash against Porto.

United started brightly with the packed midfield creating plenty of opportunities. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was guilty of an awful miss in the early exchanges when he turned Ronaldo's cross over the bar from only yards out. The forward had other half chances, but Zat Knight was defending well for Fulham and should be praised for clearing some early danger. The big, physical England hopeful was good in the air throughout and the youngster certainly looks a bright prospect for the Cottagers.

Knight then went close to opening the scoring just before the 20 minute mark. The 24-year-old got his head onto a Steed Malbranque free-kick, but his effort went straight at American international Tim Howard. However, there was no escape for United only minutes later when the visitors took the lead from the penalty spot following a comedy of errors from the United defence.

Skipper Roy Keane attempted to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal-kick, but he was careless and Brian McBride did well to win the ball from the Irish international. McBride found Luis Boa Morte who charged into the United penalty area and looked likely to score before Wes Brown clumsily brought down the Frenchman, leaving the referee no choice but to award the penalty. Malbranque took the chance in style with a superb penalty, sending the travelling fans from London into delight and making Fulham the first domestic club to score a penalty at Old Trafford for over a decade. I mustn't forget to mention the Fulham fans, who only sold a fraction of the 9,000 tickets they were allocated for the Cup match, with the entire top row of the scoreboard end being given back to the club for United fans. A very poor showing from a club who harbour Champions League qualification ambitions.

Fears of another F.A Cup exit amongst the United faithful were short-lived with Ryan Giggs and Van Nistelrooy linking up only two minutes after the Fulham penalty to restore parity in the Theatre of Dreams. Phillip Neville found Welsh winger Giggs down the left flank, who sent in a beautiful cross to the prolific United striker who mad no mistake in bundling the ball home from close range.

United's confidence took a boost after the equaliser, and the chances kept coming. Ryan Giggs and Van Nistelrooy both have shots charged down, with Ronaldo causing Fulham all sorts of problems down the right hand side. However, United were looking increasingly vulnerable at the back and set-pieces were becoming a worry, and two goal mouth scrambles occurred following the Red Devils defence failing to clear the ball.

Sir Alex Ferguson and newly appointed assistant manager Walter Smith obviously gave the team a good team-talk during the break, with United looking more organised and settled as the second-half got under-way. Edwin van der Sar was called into action only minutes after the break, denying Ryan Giggs. With 55 minutes on the clock, United went close again with Ronaldo seeing his free-kick bounce back off the crossbar.

United begun to pick up the pace and the winning goal came seven minutes after Ronaldo's close free-kick. The Portuguese teenage sensation was again involved as he galloped down the right wing using his pace and skill to dodge the challenge of any Fulham defenders before sending a neat cross into Van Nistelrooy, who met the ball with a deadly shot leaving van der Sar with no chance.

Fulham launched a late rally and had several opportunities to level the scores, but Tim Howard was on top form to keep United's heads in front. The US international repeated his heroics of the fifth round victory over rivals Manchester City to produce a magnificent save from Boa Morte as the game reached it's end, to the anguish of Cottagers boss Chris Coleman who was watching the game from his hospital bed following a health scare during the week. He watched United hang on to their narrow advantage to book a place at a neutral venue for a semi-final, which could potentially be a show-down with F.A Cup holders Arsenal, who are gunning for a third consecutive success in the competition and a fourth consecutive final.

Overall, it was a pleasing display from United and it's great to be back to winning ways. Fulham gave us a real scare, and to their credit played some good football at times, regularly exploiting our defensive frailties. However, we've come through it and are now a game away from a first Cup final since the treble success of 1999. In reality, although Sir Alex Ferguson won't have given up on the Premiership or the European Cup, the F.A Cup is our best chance of silverware this season and it's great to be involved at this stage following a run of early exits in recent years.

Full Time - Manchester United 2-1 Fulham
Attendance - 67,614

Man Utd: Howard, Phil Neville, Brown, Keane (Djemba-Djemba 75), O'Shea, Fletcher, Butt, Scholes, Ronaldo (Solskjaer 88), van Nistelrooy, Giggs. Subs not used: Kleberson, Forlan, Carroll.

Fulham: Van der Sar, Volz, Knight, Goma, Green, Malbranque, Sean Davis, Legwinski (Pembridge 64), Clark (Petta 81), Boa Morte, McBride (Hayles 63). Subs not used: Crossley, Djetou.

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