Southampton made four changes for the trip to Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round, with Nathan Wood, Flynn Downes, Caspar Jander, and Tom Fellows coming in to the side.
Tonda Eckert vowed to go strong, and he was true to his word at Craven Cottage. Léo Scienza and Finn Azaz both started in a Saints team intent on causing an upset.
Both teams started brightly. First, Tom Fellows found space out wide courtesy of a long clearance from Daniel Peretz. Fellows' cross was too deep and easily dealt with by the Fulham defence.
After Caspar Jander's misplaced pass was easily cut out, Fulham forced a corner of their own, which was defended well by the Saints' defence.
Southampton dangerous on the counter-attack
In the tenth minute, Southampton carved Fulham open when Cyle Larin held the ball up and offloaded to Downes. His pass found Azaz inside the penalty area, but his intended through ball to Larin was intercepted.
The first shot on target went to Fulham. Oscar Bobb danced into the area and hit a tame shot which Peretz fielded easily.
Fulham were unfortunate not to go ahead when Daniel Peretz' clearance ricocheted off Ryan Manning and into the Saints' net. However, the referee had spotted an infringement and blown his whistle before the ball went into the net, much to the relief of the Southampton fans.
Scienza misses golden chance to put Saints ahead
Scienza should have put the Saints ahead in the 21st minute when he ran clear of the defence, only to place his shot wide of Benjamin Lecomte's far post.
Peretz did well to keep out Joachim Andersen's far-post header as the half-hour approached before Samuel Chukwueze tested Peretz with a rasping low drive from range.
Good work from James Bree down the Saints' right side resulted in a chance for Léo Scienza at the far post. The Brazilian got it all wrong, though, and shinned his volley out for a throw-in on the far side.
Cyle Larin did brilliantly out wide to turn a long clearance from Jander into a counter-attack. Larin cut in from the left, but his cross was intercepted as players arrived in the box for Southampton.
Scienza's driving run through the middle presented Finn Azaz with a great opportunity to cross in the 40th minute. However, the Irish international's cross was way too high for Fellows to reach as he arrived at the far post.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis was alert to a Harrison Reed cross-shot, which he did well to clear inside his own six-yard box under pressure.
Half-Time: Fulham 0-0 Southampton
Fulham had the better of the opening exchanges in the second-half. Rodrigo Muniz headed over from close range before Reed drove a shot straight at Peretz from outside of the box.
The Lilywhites were almost ahead in the 53rd minute when Timothy Castagne bundled the ball into the net only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Another swift counter-attack presented Tom Fellows with a great chance to put the Saints ahead, but his left-footed effort failed to beat Lecomte, who had narrowed the angle well.
Fulham's Jorge Cuenca received a yellow card for a late challenge on Léo Scienza on the hour as Larin raced through on goal but was deemed to be offside.
Good passing and movement inside the Saints' box created a good chance for Muniz which he blazed over the bar from close range.
Finn Azaz almost put the Saints ahead in the 69th minute when his deflected effort was tipped onto the bar by Lecomte.
Tonda Eckert made two changes in the 70th minute, bringing on Ross Stewart for Larin and Cam Bragg for Jander.
Flynn Downes picked up his 12th yellow card of the season for dissent after a foul was given against him for an overzealous challenge on Reed.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, Castagne fired a low effort narrowly wide of the far post as Fulham began to exert their control on the match.
Scienza and Fellows made way for Samuel Edozie and Kuryu Matsuki with ten minutes of the match remaining. Eckert no doubt has one eye on Wednesday's Championship fixture away at West Brom and his substitutions reflected that.
Daniel Peretz felt the full force of a Ryan Sessegnon shot from close range as the Fulham full-back's drive hit the Israeli keeper full in the face.
A moment of high drama gifted the Saints a penalty in the final minute of normal time. Finn Azaz stepped inside the challenge of Andersen but was brought down. Ross Stewart stepped up to drive the ball low and hard to the keeper's left.
Six minutes of injury time felt like an eternity as the Saints battled to hold on to their slender lead. Tonda Eckert's team are now ten matches unbeaten and progresses to the last eight of the FA Cup.