Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic reckons his side didn't have enough of a grip on the game as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion on Saturday afternoon.
The Cottagers were undone by goals from Stephen Warnock and Lucas Akins - with an Oliver Norwood equaliser sandwiched in-between the Brewers' goals.
It was the perfect tonic to end a rollercoaster week for Albion that began with a 5-0 drubbing by Leeds United and ended four points later with a hard-fought win over promotion-chasing Fulham, four days after a first away point of the campaign with Tuesday's 0-0 draw at Norwich City.
It sees the Brewers heading into Wednesday night's tie with Manchester United on the highest of highs.
Jokanovic's Cottagers struggled to fully impose themselves against the hosts, but hard work trumped quality on a day that Nigel Clough's Burton reminded everyone why they achieved that miracle survival last term.
Liverpool loanee Sheyi Ojo and full-back Ryan Sessegnon - courted by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool over the summer - were the architects of a late barrage that threatened to gate-crash another Pirelli victory for the Brewers.
But Clough's men stood firm again after Akins' 51st minute penalty - a rarity for Albion - sent the Brewers on their way to a second home win of the season.
And Jokanovic, vying for another promotion to the Premier League after he guided Watford to second place in the Championship in 2015, reckons there wasn't much difference to last season's 2-0 defeat of Albion at the Pirelli.
"Nothing," he said when asked what had changed between now and February's victory against the Brewers.
"We dominated the game, and we didn't give them so many 'presents' in the last game like we did today. We didn’t have the bad luck for the referee like we did today.
"It was a similar game from last season if you remember, but a different result. It's our problem right now because we didn't control the things we could have.
Burton Albion 2-1 Fulham
"We didn't play worse, but in different moments we weren't aggressive enough and made some costly mistakes.
"In the last game they didn't score and they didn't need to play all the time in the small pitch again with 11 players, and this pitch is compact, and for that it is different to last season.
"They were similar games, but different people on the pitch and we didn't find enough of a solution for today during the game."
