The prospect of getting through this tie and playing Leeds at home in the next round fifty years after we beat them in 1973 is no small incentive for us to do our best this evening.
The first tie was very entertaining and we won a lot of admiration from neutrals for our performance. I expect tonight's game will be similar but of course we'll be without Stewart and Gelhardt isn't eligible, though we have a number of other potential scorers. Cirkin will presumably be rested according to the concussion protocol and with the Reading game only three days away there could well be some pooling of our resources. Fulham have only scored once in their last four games, albeit tough ones (especially our one), and if it comes to penalties, their first choice penalty-taker Mitrovic has missed three out of the six he's taken this season. I'll be watching the match along with other members of the London Branch in the White Swan in Pimlico. Match prediction: 2-1 to us, maybe after extra-time.
I got to the pub not long after 7.00 and it was full of rather posh people in for after works drinks with none of the faithful in evidence at first glance. The barmaid said she’d get the match on for me and I got a seat in front of a large screen and awaited developments. We were fielding a strong side with the only change from Saturday’s match being Ba starting instead of Gelhardt. Rigg was on the bench and so were O’Nien and Pritchard, which was all to the good. Mitrovic and Willian were among the subs.
As kick-off approached I discovered the lad, Steve, sitting opposite me was also of the faithful and we had a good chat as we waited for kick-off. It was all Fulham in the opening stages and after conceding a corner and a free-kick in a dangerous spot we went behind just on eight minutes when we couldn’t clear in our box and Wilson slotted home a low shot that Patto got a hand to but couldn’t keep out. On ten minutes there was a minute’s applause for Sunderland fan Chris Collier who died at the weekend at an all too early age. Fulham were looking powerful and slick and we were hardly creating a thing but we managed a good move in the nineteenth minute that culminated in a Roberts shot that was blocked on the edge of their box.
We’d turned the corner a bit and were taking the ball into their half for a change and meanwhile in the pub two other of our fans had joined us. Patto was, as ever, in good form, and made a couple of crucial if unspectacular saves to keep it 0-1. If they got another, then that would probably be it. Wilson went close just before the half-hour but in the thirty-third we had our first effort on target when a Ba shot was blocked by Rodak in goal. We were enjoying a decent attacking spell and Steve hit the nail on the head when he said, “Strikerless!” after an Amad cross from the right went begging. As half-time approached the ball was mainly in their half and I fancied us to get an equaliser any minute. That didn’t happen but we’d certainly improved a lot after being swamped in the opening stages.
During the break I discovered that a woman at the next table was also of the faith so that made five of us (and no Fulham fans as far as I could see). When we kicked off again we’d made no changes, as is our usual scheme. It was fairly end to end in the opening exchanges and Neil had a decent shot from just outside the box, seven minutes in, that wasn’t too far wide. Next thing Rodak made a good one-handed save from a Roberts effort. In the fifty-seventh minute an Amad effort was cleared off the line and we were getting closer. Just after that, though, a Mitrovic shot was blocked by Patto and Pereira slotted in their second from the rebound. It was time to make a few substitutions and we wondered if they’d bring on O’Nien as a striker – why not? Roberts and Neil were soon subbed by Pritchard and O’Nien. Fulham also made two changes at the same time.
We kept at it but Fulham were blocking our efforts quite effectively. With twenty minutes to go we made another double switch, bringing on Ekwah and Bennette for Amad and Michu. Ekwah immediately had a decent shot that went just wide. In the seventy-seventh minute we pulled one back and it was a great lobbed effort into the top right corner from Clarke after Alese fed him from the left. There was certainly time for an equaliser and extra-time and when Rigg came on for Ba shortly afterwards Roy of the Rovers dreams started floating around my Peronied head. Such dreams lasted only a very short time, however, as from a corner that we didn’t get clear Kurzawa blasted home from close range to put them 3-1 ahead. We’d just entered four minutes of stoppage time when Bennette scored our second following an O’Nien free-kick from our left. We won a corner, probably our first, in the dying moments but it was cleared and then that was it.
Of course I’m disappointed that we lost but we lost to the better side and we put up a good display.
