Fulham earned an FA Cup fifth round tie with First Division Burnley after crushing rivals Charlton Athletic at Loftus Road on Sunday afternoon.

The home tie with Stan Ternant's play off chasing side will be the 19th cup fixture for Jean Tigana's men this season.

Their first cup tie of the season was in the InterToto Cup against FC Haka back in July.

Fulham's exertions in the chase for silverware could be the underlying reason behind the poor league form that has left them languishing 15th place in the Premiership.

With Tigana's men managing to avoid the big guns like Manchester United and Arsenal in Monday's draw, many fans will be expecting cup tie number 20 to be just around the corner.

Midfielder Steed Malbranque was the hero on Sunday, destroying Alan Curbishley's men with a second half hat trick, his first for the club.

Charlton had enjoyed the better of the play up until Malbranque coolly beat Dean Kiely in the 59th minute following good work from Luis Boa Morte.

The turning point came shortly afterwards when Boa Morte was tripped in the area by Luke Young and the Frenchmen tucked away the resulting penalty.

Charlton could have got back in the match almost immediately, but Shaun Bartlett saw his header brilliantly saved by Maik Taylor, who was once again deputising for Edwin Van Der Sar.

With time running out Mark Fish wrestled Facundo Sava to the ground and referee Paul Durkin had no hesitation in awarding another penalty which Malbranque converted to take earn himself the match ball.

Fulham's record in 2003 has been impressive, with three wins and a draw boosting their fortunes. That unbeaten record gets the toughest possible examination on Saturday when Fulham visit Arsenal.

January 29, 2003 13:00