Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was still smiling despite the concession of a late away goal in his side’s win over Wolfsburg.
The Cottagers defeated the German champions 2-1 in the Europa League quarter-final first leg at Craven Cottage on Thursday, but Alexander Madlung’s 89th minute goal – after Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff had netted for the hosts – makes their challenge to see the job through next week much more difficult.
Still they will travel to Germany with a slight advantage and plenty of confidence, with Hodgson saying his side made the Bundesliga side look ordinary over the 90 minutes.
"Wolfsburg are a good team, they are champions of Germany. They have many good players, but tonight I thought we made them look reasonably ordinary," the genial Fulham boss said on ESPN.
"We were certainly good value for our 2-0 lead, but of course a little bit of nervousness creeps in.
"A 2-0 lead is a little bit of a dangerous one, and we stopped playing a little the way we had been and let them into the game that little bit more," he went on.
"Unfortunately it led to a corner and their goal. But we have got to be happy that the European adventure continues at Craven Cottage and we have claimed another notable scalp."