LIFE-SAVER Giorgos Karagounis earned praise from Martin Jol for the 'warrior-like' attributes which kept Fulham in the FA Cup.

The Greek midfielder's spectacular angled volley was his first goal for the club and gave the Whites a 1-1 draw against Championship side Blackpool.

“You need a bit of luck and you need a bit of quality and Giorgos gave us that,” said the Fulham boss.

“He’s in the team for the last three games and I told him maybe he’d play 60 minutes because he’s played the other games, but I had to leave him on.

“He’s not only a legend in his country, he’s a warrior for us – he wants to win and he wants to play for the team.

“I was very happy that he came here and he showed why today. He scored out of nothing – if you look at YouTube he’s probably done it eight or nine times before and that’s what he’s capable of. He’s a character, he’s a personality.

Although Jol was disappointed not to have won the tie at the first time of asking, he was happy to have demonstrated his desire to take the cup seriously – fielding the same XI who started at West Brom on New Year's Day.

“We played the same team again and that helps, because everyone realises you’re taking it seriously. “Maybe they’re tired but that’s no excuse – Blackpool play more games in the Championship than we do.

“I thought it was necessary to signal to the fans that we want to play our best team. We played well against West Brom and Swansea , so I thought I’d play the same team.”

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