Fulham manager Marco Silva acknowledged it was not a classic encounter against Rotherham on Friday night but progression in the Emirates FA Cup was the main priority.
A Bobby De Cordova-Reid screamer midway through the first half was all that separated Fulham and Rotherham United at Craven Cottage, though the hosts were in control throughout.
“Job done, which was the most important thing for us really,” Silva said. “Professional performance, we clearly deserved to go through in the competition.
“It was our obligation to control the game the way we did, to not give almost anything for them. I don't remember one save from Marek, no shots on target from them.
“When you make eight changes from one XI to the other, of course it always has an impact from a performance point of view.
“Of course, all the players that started, they have more than a capacity to start in the Premier League. They already did it, most of them that started tonight, but when you make eight changes there's always an impact – the connections, the dynamic was not really the way I'd like to see.
“Of course, it was against a side that is defending really deep on the pitch, with that 5-3-2, always really deep on the pitch.
“We always had the possession, I think until the first goal probably more than 80 per cent of possession, [but] not many chances to be honest. But we scored, we created three or four chances to score more goals, and [gave] nothing for them.
“We deserve to be in the next round. Clean sheet is always important. I think we did control well their direct game, you know there will be long throw-ins in our box as well, all that stuff.
“I think, from a defensive point of view, we did control well. In terms of performance, it wasn't the best, but was enough to go through and to control really well the game.”