Hodgson made a raft of changes for the trip to the City of Manchester Stadium.
Fulham had a 0-1 lead but a goal by Kolo Toure in extra-time secured the win for City in the Carling Cup clash.
“I was disappointed we could not take it to penalties, but I am not disappointed with the team as they gave me everything,” Hodgson said.
“I thought we could give Manchester City a game and make it difficult for them. But we took it to an even better level.
“To find ourselves at 1-1 going into extra-time was more than we could have hoped for, but we deserved it. I have got a pretty good idea now of which players I can trust.”
