LFL: FULHAM (H)

After we’d brought on Isidor and Diarra we looked a lot more dangerous upfront and the changes really paid off when they combined to get what proved to be the winning goal. Fulham pushed us back for much of the later stages and I wasn’t the only one who was very relieved to hear the final whistle. Three points and a clean sheet against a team we got nothing from last season. Net result? Happiness.

BEFORE

Last week’s late defeat took the wind out of our sails but a win today would really get us back on course. It wasn’t all gloom as I was impressed with Muenier in his first game and it was good to see Angulo getting his first goal, though overall his performance could have been a lot better. He was in good company there though. I think Fulham were the only side to beat us twice last season so we have to stop that sequence. Looking at their squad which lost against Chelsea on Monday I was getting alarm bells when I saw the names Bobb and Kevin so they must have impressed me in the past. I’ll be at the game and my match prediction is a 2-1 win for us.

The town centre was jumping as I made my way to the ground and there were also lots of people in cowboy hats heading for a concert at Keel Square. I called in at ALS Towers en route and on checking the team-news I saw that there was just one change from last time out with Mukiele coming in for O’Nien. I wasn’t surprised about that. There was also one change for Fulham with Andersen replacing Cuenca. My new season ticket got me through the turnstile no problem and I was in my seat in the Upper East Stand around 1.15. My friends’ match predictions were 2-1 and a surprising 0-2. With ten minutes to go there was still a big gap in the middle of where a lot of Fulham fans should have been. Maybe it was for security purposes, I don’t know. There was a Jack Crawford-themed tifo, shooting flames, music blaring out and then we were ready for the off.

THE GAME

We won the first corner in the third minute and after we’d taken it short Le fee’s cross went out for a goal-kick. We were a lot sharper in two subsequent attacks and I was pleased to see Meunier hitting a cross first time and not faffing around. Fulham made their first serious attack in the ninth but referee Michael Salisbury blew for an infringement. Both sides were doing a lot of passing it around at the back, which I’m not fond of, and I’d hoped we’d seen the back of that. In the fourteenth we conceded our first corner after a quick Fulham break and we managed to clear it without any trouble. In the seventeenth Meunier had our first shot on target but it was a weak effort and was never going to bother Leno in goal. He received a good ripple for it, though, and it’s clear he’s happy to have a shot when he can. In the twenty-second Ballard conceded a free-kick just to the left of our box and we heard the Fulham fans for the first time. Fortunately the ball bounced off Palacios’ arm as he tried to control it and the danger passed.

Fulham had started to perk up and put some pressure on us and we were lucky to escape when a Castagne shot went narrowly wide of our right angle. As the half-hour mark came and went we still hadn’t produced a serious effort on goal and Brobbey was being very closely marshalled. Andersen was the first player to be yellow-carded, for a foul on Angulo as he steamed across the half-way line. From the ensuing free-kick we won a corner on our right and it immediately led to another on the left. We could make nothing from that one but we kept on going forward and Brobbey was managing to get more involved. Five minutes to the break and the crowd had largely gone quiet while Leno was taking his time when it came to goal-kicks. Reinildo made a great defensive block in the final seconds and then we were into one minute of added-time. It remained goalless as the whistle went. It had been an unexciting game with just that one near-miss by Fulham. Our attacks had often been ponderous and we needed more zip in the second period. I hoped to see Diarra and/or Rigg on before long. I thought Meunier had been fine and he’d barely put a foot wrong. He was unspectacular but effective.

There were no changes, as usual, as we kicked off again and we attacked immediately with Angulo doing very well to keep the ball in as he raced down the left flank. Nobody was in the right spot to get on the end of the ensuing cross but it was heartwarming at any rate. Shortly afterwards Angulo was down injured for a minute or so but was finally able to rejoin play. In the fifty-fifth the ref was booed for not allowing us to play advantage when it looked like we were on for a good break. Next thing Mukiele made a crucial tackle in our box after Fulham broke quickly and they won a corner. They made nothing of it but were soon pressing again through Bobb. I was thinking we were due for a change or two and I wondered what Isidor could come up with. Palacios was the second Fulham player to be booked, for a foul on Le Fee. On the hour-mark several subs began to warm up and four minutes later we made two changes with Angulo and Brobbey going off, to be replaced by Diarra and Isidor. The atmosphere immediately perked up.

As we entered the final quarter it was anybody’s game but I was pleased to see Bobb going off as Fulham made a double switch. Referee Salisbury wasn’t winning any friends as he overruled the linesman’s award of a throw-in to us. In the seventy-first our fans really came alive following a fantastic move that involved Le Fee racing down the left and putting a cross in for Isidor whose low shot came back off the post. In the seventy-fifth we went ahead with another great move, this time down the right flank. It culminated in a low cross coming in from Diarra and Isidor made no mistake with his low shot. For a horrible moment I thought that it was going to go to VAR but….it didn’t. A rather effective couple of substitutions, eh? We were forced back for a while as Fulham went for the equaliser and their sub Charles was looking a handful. Le Fee had a good chance in the eighty-first but he failed to connect properly with a great floating pass and his weak effort was easily gathered by Leno. Diarra had to go off in the eighty-third, presumably because he was injured, and he was replaced by Rigg. He’d certainly made his mark in the short spell he was on. Fulham were penning us back into our box and with six minutes to go I was getting decidedly nervous. Soon we conceded a corner on our left and though we blocked it, the relentless pressure continued. Two minutes on the clock but there was bound to be a decent slice of added-time. A few people were leaving but the vast majority were still sitting rapt by the game. As four minutes of added-time were announced we brought on Mundle for Le Fee. We’d managed to break that awful spell of pressure and the time was ticking away rapidly. We even had a great chance to get a second but Mundle shot straight at Leno. Very soon the final whistle went and there was much applause all round with many a sigh of relief too.