I've had a frustrating week one way or another. Had lots of things I wanted to say about the cracking result last Saturday but didn't have any time to write. Even in the few moments I've had to think about it I wasn't sure how best to express my thoughts about the game. A game to remember. One that will stay with me for the rest of my life. When in doubt ... do a Top 5!
5. Waving bye-bye to Wayne Rooney - I've no axe to grind with Rooney. He's a great player and made a big difference when he replaced Berbatov at half time. Even with ten men we all knew United were capable of beating us and for a while in the second half I couldn't quite believe they weren't. Our second goal was too much though and Rooney's frustration was the physical evidence that the game was up. It was the final pantomime moment in a game that had made me laughing as hard as I cheered.
4. Danny Murphy's perfect penalty - My admiration for Danny Murphy right now knows no bounds. I'll be the first to admit I didn't rate him too highly last season but I've realised the error of my ways. He's been a revelation this season (the best midfielder in the Premier League?) and seems to get better every week. He does the simple stuff brilliantly and yet again was the conductor at the heart of a majestic team performance. As he stepped up to take the penalty I felt the buzz of my phone as a text arrived. It was from a Spurs supporting friend who later said he knew Murphy wouldn't miss. He was right.
3. 20,000 Fulham fans calling Ronaldo a wanker - That might seem childish and puerile but it confirmed a growing belief in my stomach that we were going to win the game. United, already a goal and a player down, were clearly getting frustrated with the Ref's refusal to fall for their attempts to win free kicks or get Fulham players sent off. I've often joked with my pals about "Fortress Cottage" and proposed ways to turn our ground into the Galatasary of south west London. Craven Cottage is not the most intimidating of grounds yet, as Ronaldo stood pleading with Phil Dowd for yet another fictional offence, we made our feelings clear. As he sulked off away from the home end it was clear we had got to him. The supposed "best player in the world" and he couldn't handle a barracking from nice little Fulham. For all his tricks and flicks he's got a lot of growing up to do before he can really show he's good enough to stand alongside the greats of the game. Maybe if he'd focused on his football he could have made a difference.
2. Sensing the big match atmosphere as we entered the Hammy End - Maybe familiarity breeds contempt but I wasn't particularly excited about playing United before we arrived. The traffic was bad and we cut it a bit finer than we'd have liked so the match was seconds from kick-off as we climbed the steps into the Hammersmith End. As I stepped into the stand the sense of anticipation was tangible. This was a massive game, a real big match atmosphere. My mood changed instantly and I felt strangely optimistic for a good result. A good game at least. That feeling never left me. A great day.
1. Zoltan Gera's overhead volley - Zoltan Gera hadn't won my sympathy in the way Bobby Zamora had. Whilst I could see he was going through a difficult settling in phase I didn't feel moved enough to really support him. His arrival against United was a necessary change coming at the point where Dempsey's willingness to chase every ball was finally overcome by his bout of food poisoning. We needed a fresh pair of legs. He did well in the build up to the second goal, collected it from Dickson Etuhu, played a good pass to AJ who almost got a shot in before returning the ball. As Gera chipped it up off his toe the first thought through my mind was - oh Zoltan, you've messed that up. Then something incredible happened. The ball hung in the air, Gera twisted his body in an unlikely shape and pulled off an amazing overhead volley into the far corner. A goal! A really great goal! A goal that was going to beat Manchester United! Hooray for Zoltan! Zoltan, destroyer of worlds!.
Got lots I'd like to talk about following yesterday but not sure when I'll have time to do it. It's Mother's Day and I've promised Mrs Chopper I'll wash the floor in the kitchen and hoover the rest of the house. Half way through but lots to do. Cooking a roast too - I'm so New Man!.
Let me just say that again. Fulham 2 Manchester United 0. Brilliant. Today was what playing in the Premier League is all about. Fulham were on top of their game from the start and United couldn't cope.
Short report. Fulham pushing forward. Scholes hand ball. Straight red and a penalty. Murphy slots home as he always does. 1-0 Fulham. United frustrated. Ronaldo pathetic. Murphy pulling the strings. Hangeland imperious. Everyone playing well. Half time began preparing for the inevitable siege.
Fulham still in charge. United bring on Rooney for ineffective Berbatov. Begin to force us back around the hour mark. Shots flying in from all angles. Schwarzer collects everything. Dempsey covering every blade of grass. Etuhu immense. Murphy off with potential achilles. Dacourt fills the gap. Zamora replaced by Kamara. Restricted to long punts down field. Kamara chases everything. Gera on for Dempsey. AJ through on goal. Shot saved. Finds Gera. Overhead volley. GOAL! 2-0! Delierium. Rooney throws away ball. Second yellow. Rooney strops off. United down to 9 and beaten men. Whistle goes. Very Happy.
Forty points. Premier League future confirmed. Up to 8th. Very Happy.
It's been a while since I posted any of Gordon's nostalgia. This arrived via Rich@CCN the other week who also recently posted this rather excellent piece about baseball and sporting history and vintage Fulham footage.
Article written by Gordon Mills
When Fulham inexplicably and shockingly sold Alan Mullery to Tottenham one March Saturday in 1964, many of us felt much as Bobby Robson did – rumour has it that after the game with Liverpool which Fulham won 1 – 0 thanks to a Reg Stratton goal, and the players heard the news of the transfer in the changing room, Robson had to be physically restrained from barging into the directors’ room and sorting them out. The transfer left a gaping in the Fulham midfield that was partially filled by local St Marks alumnus and self-confessed hard man, Fred Callaghan.
Fred had often been part of our games on the gravel of Hurlingham and South Parks and we had all been proud to name him as friend when he was offered terms at Fulham. We had sometimes been chased off the Richmond Park golf course by him and some other apprentice professionals too.
He had been captain of a very strong Fulham Youth team that included John Dempsey and Rodney Marsh and was an abrasive, tough tackling wing half with, paradoxically, a very cultured left foot. We looked forward to his promotion to the first team with high expectations.
A bunch of us travelled to Aston Villa the following Saturday to witness Fred’s debut in the number 6 shirt and what an inauspicious start he made! It seemed that every time he went near the ball in the first half he fouled someone – and these were unintentional fouls not the usual clattering Fred tackle - and at least four of his “tackles” were so late that he even missed the Villa man in possession. To say that the pace of the old Division 1 was a bit too much for him was a gross understatement. However, he gradually found his feet and actually managed to pass the ball to a fellow white shirt a couple of times in the second half and began to regain his stature after being withered by a few stares from captain J Haynes. Fulham drew the game and so began Fred’s career as Fulham player.
He kept his place in the midfield for a while but his great days came after he switched to left back when Jim Langley moved to QPR. He quickly established himself as a solid defender who made up for a certain lack of quickness on the turn with good positional sense and was ever willing to support the attack with marauding, swashbuckling runs down the wing that usually concluded with a dangerous cross towards Allan Clarke or Steve Earle. He was an excellent partner for George Cohen on the other flank.
He stayed with Fulham through the dreadful relegation years at the end of the sixties and, ironically, was a member of the team when Alan Mullery returned in 1972. Unfortunately, he didn’t feature in the team in 1975 when Fulham reached Wembley.
My recollections of Fred after this are vague – I think he had some association with Brentford and also managed Carshalton and I think he’s working for Fulham in some hospitality capacity now...
NOTE: Gordon's right. Fred is the Matchday Host for the Riverside Restaurant (details here) and also has a small section in the programme.
What a difference 90 minutes can make. Things were looking particularly grim after Wednesday night. I was staying positive but the apparent loss of Aaron Hughes and an imposing set of fixtures did weigh heavily on my mind. A week ago we were a game away from a Wembley semi-final and on the fringe of European qualification now we were out of the cup and looking nervously at the teams below us.
Last year me and my mate Gibbo had talked about going to this game. We fancied an away trip and thought this looked as good a chance of seeing a win as we were likely to find. We realised we weren't going to be able to make it (work commitments and important birthday parties being our main obstacles) a while ago and on our journey home after the Blackburn loss it seemed pretty unlikely we'd be missing anything special. We did joke that it would be typical that we'd end up missing a goal fest and an away win - but didn't really believe it.
I sat in a Merit Tyre shop just before kick-off and watched Sky Sports News with Jeff Stelling cracking jokes about our away form. They showed a montage of all our goals away from home this season - Seol at the KC Stadium, Clint Dempsey at Portsmouth and Konchesky's January goal of the month - it didn't last very long. Stelling informed us that the previous lowest ever total for away goals was six - suggesting we had no hope of passing even that measly total. I spent a lot of the afternoon avoiding the football. A sneaky peak just before half-time showed us 1-0 up and (according to TiFF) well in control. Andy Johnson had shown some real striker's instinct to chase down Andy O'Brien and take advantage of his dreadful back pass to poke home from six yards. As I was trying to take this all in though Bolton equalised. Kevin Davies being a handful on the edge of our box and steamrolling through our defence to level the score just before the break.
I left it a good 10 minutes after full time before I dared check the score again. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw the result. Simon Davies had restored the lead firing home a rebound after Danny Murphy had hit the crossbar from a tight angle. Diomansey Kamara confirmed the points collecting a neat pass from Dempsey before sending in an acute daisy cutter.
We've put some ghosts to rest here. Put an end to a run of defeats, picked up that first away win and scored enough goals to make sure we won't be holders of an unwanted Premier League record. We're three points away from that important 40 point marker and I'm feeling very happy indeed.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel (Riga 74), Taylor, McCann, Mark Davies (Muamba 68), Gardner, Kevin Davies, Elmander. Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Puygrenier, Makukula, Shittu. Goals: Kevin Davies 45.
We caught Blackburn cold scoring after just 90 seconds. Clint Dempsey took down a high through ball and bundled through the defence before poking his shot past former England 'keeper Paul Robinson. Blackburn, who looked awful at times in the first half, kept scrapping and in the end it was their desire to win that gave them the points. Diouf scored after a high ball into the box caused chaos in the Fulham defence. This gave Rovers the boost they needed and we never looked like responding. Five minutes from time Jason Roberts out muscled Tony Kallio (on for an injured Aaron Hughes) and fired home the winner. Fulham are starting to look tired after three weeks of double fixtures and it's times like this when the size of our squad is a concern.
Manchester United really are a very good team aren't they? Maybe it was the detachment of watching the game from home on TV but I really didn't feel any of the anguish I'm reading on the Fulham message boards. I thought we played quite well, certainly showed signs of being able to surprise United in the opening twenty minutes. We just came up against the best team in the world in an unforgiving and determined mood.
Alex Ferguson indicted his intent with a strong starting line up and an early effort from Carlos Tevez pulled a good save from Schwarzer and required a clearance from an alert John Paintsil. United looked less confident at the back. Andy Johnson got his foot to a long through ball and directed it without any real venom towards goal. This caught van der Sar out of position and created a moment of comedy as Vidic only just won the race against a very slowly rolling goal bound ball. Still a moment of promise. Zamora (who I thought looked much more positive than he had midweek) sent in a great cross from the right wing which found Dempsey at the far post. The American's header was well directed but just a fraction too high. AJ and Zamora then interchanged passes on the edge of the box but having broken through the defence Bobby Z sliced his shot well wide of the post. Maybe we could get something out of the game?
United won a corner. Wayne Rooney flicked on from the near post and Tevez was left unmolested at the far post to head home the first goal at close range. A soft goal which you couldn't help feeling we could have avoided but a goal none the less and now we had a lot to do. Tevez received the ball in midfield and went on a run. Etuhu did well to get back on goal side and attempt to hold up the Argentine but then fell over. Neither centre back had got close enough to him to stop the shot that curled past Schwarzer's outstretched hand. 2-0 down at half time and we needed a miracle.
Fulham started the second half brightly enough but then a poor clearance from Hangeland was collected by Tevez who set Rooney free. A run, a jink and a powerful shot into the far corner. 3-0 down and game over. Nothing happened of any great interest for about half an hour as the flow of the game was disrupted by a series of substitutions from both sides. Then a loose pass from Gera set Ji-Sung Park free to run at goal and his shot into the far corner completed the rout.
If that had been a boxing match the ref would have stopped it half way through the second half and awarded it to Fulham on points. Almost inevitably, after 75 minutes of outplaying the opposition we ran out of ideas and paid the price. With men committed forward we made a mess of retaining the ball then made a mistake at the back and allowed Hull to get a ball across goal which somehow evaded Schwarzer and two defenders leaving Man Utd loanee Manucho to side foot home.
There's a lot I could talk about - How bad is Zamora since he scored those goals? Why is Roy so reluctant to use subs when the game is clearly crying out for them? Why did Hull wear their change kit? - I'll leave them for another day, maybe.
In the reversal of a popular saying, now we can concentrate on the Cup.
An incredible week just keeps getting better as the Whites put in a stoic performance to claim another goalless draw away from home. I'm starting to enjoy these nil-nils as much as home wins, despite having scored a paltry 3 goals on the road we've picked up 7 points.
The Arsenal fans I know were moaning about our lack of ambition but the highlights showed we didn't just defend. Andy Johnson had a great chance to score early on and, whilst we only managed one effort on target to Arsenal's four, we matched them for efforts off target (11 each). The BBC even stated "Fulham deserved (the draw) for a performance full of attacking ambition and dogged defensive resilience". That's four points we've claimed from the Gunners this season and lord knows how long ago we managed that.
The lack of Saturday games ensured that we stretched our lead in Mike Whalley's Gubbometer. We also picked up another point in the inter-London league and I'll try and update that sometime next week.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna (Eboue 70), Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Arshavin, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri, Van Persie, Vela (Bendtner 63). Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Ramsey, Song Billong, Djourou, Gibbs.
We beat Arsenal Reserves 3-0 last night. There's a proper report here. I caught glimpses of the game on Arsenal TV in between the ad breaks of a "Relocation, Relocation" repeat.
The team saw a nice mix of fringe first teamers and up and coming youngsters. I'm getting over excited but can't help feel that players like Wayne Brown, Rob Milsom and Junior Omozusi could actually break into the first team. Not to mention Giles Barnes!
I’ve had a brilliant day today. Can’t stop smiling. Fulham stand 8th in the top flight of English football and have reached the quarter final of the F.A. Cup. Makes me happy just to type that, how far we’ve come. Last night brought back memories of midweek games in less confident times, the hustle and bustle of a well contested cup match, a sparse crowd (though 12,000 would have been a decent turnout back in the day) and an excitement about what might happen next I've not felt for some time.
“Super, Super Dan, Super Danny Murphy!”
If anyone still doubted it, the last two matches have been as startling a piece of evidence of Danny Murphy’s importance to Fulham as you’re likely to find. He ran the game on Sunday from start to finish and it wasn’t a big surprise Roy chose to rest him. Olivier Dacourt took his place in the starting eleven and I felt confident he could do a decent job for us. Olivier had a stinker though, we’ve seen hints that he’s a quality player but as the pace of the game increased he couldn’t keep up. A series of misplaced passes and tumbles suggested it just wasn’t going to be his night. Murphy was already changed and waiting when Dacourt took the knock that saw him hobble of the pitch. Hopefully nothing too serious and just a bad night at the office for Dacourt. Murphy’s arrival was spectacular though. 1-0 down at the time Captain Dan was the catalyst that turned the game in our favour. His passing and movement were as exemplary as ever but he also worked incredibly hard in the centre to win back possession when we lost it.
I’d not been particularly excited when Lawrie Sanchez signed him back in August 2007. It seemed a purchase born of desperation. He played well enough at times but I felt he’d struggled to impose himself too often. Even under Hodgson I doubted his qualities. Had I been picking the team he wouldn’t have got in – that will be one of many reasons why I’m not earning a living as a professional football manager. The purple patch that saw us achieve the great escape began to show me the error of my ways but even then I could never have imagined a scenario where Danny could change the shape of a game so effectively and rapidly as he did last night. He really is a quality player and it’s a joy to see him play for us right now.
“He scores with his left, he scores with his riiii-ght, that boy Clint Dempsey makes Drogba look …”
You know the rest. Dempsey impressed me again last night. He worked his socks off and looked genuinely spent when he was subbed near the end. He’s earned the right to be in the starting eleven and seems happy to play in whatever position he’s given. He showed great desire to reach Simon Davies corner and head home the opening goal and almost grabbed a second minutes later.
“Bob, Bob, Bobby Zam-orrr-ra!”
Bobby had a hatful of chances and there were moments when I began to lose patience with him. I’ve been a pretty firm supporter of Bobby Z thus far but found his performance last night frustrating. He turned up trumps in the end crashing home the second and match winning goal less than five minutes after Dempsey’s opener and celebrating in style.
“Come on you Whites”
Dickson Etuhu hasn’t got his own song yet. He might never get one as it’s a tricky name to scan but he’s fast becoming a cult hero at Fulham. Despite Dacourt’s personal nightmare, Dickson continued to provide the anchor for our midfield. Despite a needless booking from “Cerebral” Halsey very early on, Dickson was imperious throughout and even managed another cannon bolt shot from distance, though this time he didn’t find the target.
Arsenal on Saturday, Hull next Wednesday then United arrive for that quarter final and a chance to play at Wembley. Let’s enjoy it while we can, I’m off to do more cartwheels down the corridor.
Fulham edged a pedestrian first half, in which both teams exchanged free kicks from a variety of angles, but then got caught napping just after the break as that man Jason Scotland nipped in to give the Swans the lead. It took the arrival of our Captain Marvel, Danny Murphy, to kick the tie into life and turn the tide in our favour. Two goals in four minutes, the first from the excellent Clint Dempsey, the second from a resolute Bobby Zamora sealed the win and sent us through to a quarter final at home to Man Utd.
I was feeling nervous before kick-off. Despite the apparent gulf between our two clubs West Brom were only 8 points below us and had already shown themselves capable of beating us. Whilst the score remained goalless we always seemed vulnerable to a quick counter attack. West Brom played some neat football at times and Jay Simpson in particular showed potential to trouble our back line.
Whilst never quite taking complete control, Fulham did produce a catalogue of spectacular efforts in the first half. Danny Murphy curled an excellent free kick goal wards which was only kept out by Scott Carson's fingertip push onto the post. Dickson Etuhu continued the form he'd shown against Portsmouth and when he lashed a piledriver volley towards Carson it evoked memories of Papa Bouba Diop in his prime. Clint Dempsey cut in from the left wing before firing a curling left foot shot over Carson, only to see it come back off the angle. Simon Davies and John Paintsil were getting plenty of space down the right wing but both struggled to get in a quality cross. Murphy, who by now was completely running the came, smacked another shot off the cross bar then sent a delightful ball towards Andy Johnson which forced West Brom defender Barnett into a goal bound back header. Scott Carson again earned his money just managing to palm it around the post for a corner.
Our last good chance of the half fell to Bobby Zamora but as he scooped his effort high over the bar I was beginning to think it might just be one of those days. Bobby was beginning to approach a number of minutes that would rival Van der Sar's record for maintaining a blank. Ten minutes into the second half and he had another good chance, side stepping a challenge in the area he lost his footing just as he'd broken free. This kicked off a minor kerfuffle as the Baggies defender thought it was a dive and Bobby didn't react well to the implication. This injected a bit of passion into the game and soon after we got our reward. A quick freekick from Murphy set Paintsil free down the right wing, his cross was flicked on by Johnson in the box and Zamora's there at the far post to tap in. The delight at the goal seemed to be as much due to Zamora breaking his drought as to the fact we'd taken the lead. Within a minute Zamora showed exactly how important confidence can be. He set Dempsey off on a run down the left wing and arrived on the edge of the penalty box in time to connect with the American's neat return pass. The first time volley flew inches over the bar but it was a great instinctive strike. Had it gone in the Hammy End may very well have exploded with joy.
Fulham looked completely in control now and we didn't have to wait long for a second. Another great pass from Murphy found Zamora rampaging forward again. His shot caught Carson full in the face and left the 'keeper helpless to prevent Andy Johnson from collecting the rebound, juggling it between his own feet, lighting a celebratory cigar and eventually tucking home the winner. A double substitution on 80 minutes saw the welcome return of Diomansey Kamara who came on with Nevland to replace Zamora and AJ. Possibly the first time this season Roy's actually had the luxury of two strikers on the bench. Man-of-the-match Murphy was also retired early, receiving a well deserved standing ovation as Olivier Dacourt came on. We almost made the last few minutes more nervy than they needed to be, as Hangeland conceded a penalty. From a distance it was difficult to see what he'd done wrong, but television replays suggest he did catch Bednar as the Baggies striker nipped past him. Schwarzer, who had actually made three or four excellent saves when the game was still in the balance, reacted well to keep the penalty out and ensure a perfect finish to the game.
Justification for the team selection at Old Trafford midweek and a boost of confidence ahead of Swansea's arrival for the Cup replay on Tuesday. We find ourselves in the lofty position of 8th but more significantly are only seven points short of the magic 40 point mark
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy (Dacourt 85), Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson (Kamara 80), Zamora (Nevland 80) Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Gray, Kallio, Baird Goals: Zamora 61, Johnson 72
West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Meite, Barnett, Robinson, Morrison (Menseguez 77), Koren, Borja Valero, Filipe Teixeira (Brunt 50), Fortune (Bednar 81), Simpson Subs Not Used: Kiely, Cech, Moore, Martis Booked: Robinson
Just found this article on Tribal Football of all places.
"Fulham banned the BBC from interviewing Roy Hodgson after their defeat at Manchester United this week over Alan Green's commentary.
Fulham were so incensed by Green's commentary during their 3-0 Premier League defeat at Old Trafford on Wednesday night that head of communications Sarah Brooks took it upon herself to prevent Five Live from interviewing manager Hodgson afterwards in protest at the high amount of criticism.
Brooks told the Daily Mail: "We always co-operate with the media and never complain about fair criticism. But Alan Green's comments about Fulham appalled some of our fans, who made their views known on the message boards or contacted me during the game.
"I also listened to some of his commentary myself and remarks like 'Fulham should not have bothered to turn up' were insulting. In those circumstances, I didn't feel it appropriate for Five Live to speak to our manager."
I didn't hear the commentary in question but having had the misfortune of sitting through a number of Green's previous commentaries I can only applaud Sarah for a job well done. He's an ignorant and annoying man who seems to think we've tuned in specifically to hear his "witticisms" and deserves to be taken down a peg or two.
My friend Andy, who wrote a blog last year about following the F.A. Cup from the earliest preliminary rounds to the final, has just opened a display of his memorabilia at The National Football Museum. Amazing to see Andy's little blog grow to the extent that he's been interviewed by Radio and Television journalists, had a book published and is now featured in the same location as the ball from the 1966 World Cup Final and Maradona's shirt from the "hand of God" game. He's currently following the F.A. Vase which has been an equally entertaining read and has just led him back to the town of his birth.
Our biggest defeat so far this season. I'm sure had we fielded our strongest side we could have given them a better game but realistically another 0-0 was the best we could hope for. With a home fixture against a struggling team on Sunday and a cup replay next week I think Roy got his priorities right. Takes a brave man to field a weakened side at Old Trafford and whilst the result suggests the team wasn't up to the task better teams have fared no better.
Van der Sar claimed the British record of 14 consecutive league clean sheets. Well done Edwin, hope you remember that if Swansea let us have a crack at you in the cup!
Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea (Evans 62), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick (Gibson 69), Scholes, Park, Berbatov (Rooney 61), Tevez Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani, Rafael Da Silva, Fletcher. Booked: Park Goals: Scholes 12, Berbatov 30, Rooney 63
We knew this was going to be a tricky game. Swansea had cruised past Pompey in the last round and reports from my Championship supporting pals all said they were the best team in the division. So it proved. Neat passing and good movement we might have expected but this team showed a work rate and passion for the fight that swung the tie completely in their favour. In the end we did well to weather the storm and give ourselves another opportunity to admire the Welsh side up close.
Alarm bells must have been ringing when as early as the fourth minute Swansea were able to slice their way through our defence. Jason Scotland and Mark Gower exchanging passes before Gower fired his shot against the far post. I'm still not sure how it came out and as it did Gower almost had another chance to tap it in before Mark Schwarzer gratefully smothered the ball.
Murphy and Dacourt linked up well in the centre to regain some sort of momentum for Fulham as the game progressed. Dacourt looked classy and solid in the defensive holding role, whilst nearly all our attacking moves began with a Murphy pass. Danny picked out several long passes over the top of the Swans defence and one of these put Andy Johnson through to face the 'keeper alone before being wrongly pulled back for offside. Swansea created the better chances though and a cross from the right wing found that man Gower in space again on the left of the penalty area. Stoor was horribly misplaced and Simon Davies static as the left winger took aim but Schwarzer pulled of a remarkable point blank save to deny him again.
Our one decent chance of the first half came as Eric Nevland flicked a Davies long pass towards goal but Swansea keeper De Vries just beat Johnson to the ball. The balance of play was very much with Swansea so it was unexpected when we took the lead a couple of minutes before half-time. A corner from Konchesky was missed by the fist of De Vries and came off defender Monk's hip to give us an unlikely goal. The half time graphic showed we'd not managed a shot on target.
Thoughts that taking the lead would help us take control of the game were soon dispelled as Swansea came out for the second half in much the same fashion as they'd played the first and didn't take long to level the scoreline. A fluid buildup down the left hand side resulted in a pass to lone centre forward Jason Scotland. With his back to goal he held the ball up well, before a shift of feet bewildered Aaron Hughes and allowed Scotland to fire home under the body of Schwarzer. We were up against it now. Player for player it seemed Swansea had greater technical ability than us a fact that hardly bodes well for the replay. Our two banks of four stood up well and made it difficult for Swansea to break us down but all the creativity came from them.
Their wide men really hugged the touchlines and took every opportunity to switch play and stretch our resources. This put our wide men in the spotlight and none of them came out with very much credit. Stoor and Davies in particular suffered down the right flank, whilst Gera was conspicuous by his absence throughout. A flurry of changes from the hour mark onwards saw any ambition from us slowly dwindle and in the end it was a relief to claim a replay.
Swansea: De Vries, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Tate, Britton, Gomez, Allen (Bauza 81), Gower (Orlandi 71), Dyer, Scotland Subs Not Used: Cornell, Tudur-Jones, Bessone, Serran, Butler Goals: Scotland (51) Booked: Williams
On Sunday evening I settled down to watch the West Ham v Man Utd highlights on MOTD2. I like MOTD2, it's less pompous than it's elder sibling and usually has a pundit with something interesting to say about the games. Gianfranco Zola is the sort of person it's difficult not to like. He was a footballing genius (even if he did play for the wrong team in the borough) and rarely appears without a big beaming smile. He's also managed to get West Ham playing a free flowing and entertaining style of football. When West Ham beat us at the Cottage (a result I'm still grumpy about) they looked neat but ineffective. We undid ourselves that day but the Hammers had enough quality even then to take advantage. It seems Zola's now got them playing without fear and an amazing string of results has taken their confidence and their ability to new levels. It took a wonder goal from Giggs to defeat them and they must be eyeing European qualification. If nothing else the higher up the league they finish the easier it will be for them when the man from Sheffield United calls to collect their dough.
The game also took Edwin van der Sar a step nearer a World Record for clean sheets in league football. He'll break it if he manages to last 64 minutes without conceding against us next Wednesday. Of all the teams in the Premier League you'd probably fancy your chances of keeping a clean sheet against us than any other. We've managed a paltry three goals away from home all season, half the total of West Brom who are the next worst. Of course it would be typically Fulhamish of us to go and score, probably in the 63rd minute.
Another piece of trivia I noticed was that West Ham now have Recaro seats in their dugout. This is a growing fad amongst those teams that want to be seen as the best; Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, both Manchester's and Reading have all succumbed. Personally I think they look a bit naff, they are, after all, just car seats in club colours but each to their own. I'm glad to say Fulham have yet to be taken in and remain with Arsenal and Liverpool bastions of the plastic seat (though I'd actually be even happier if we still had a wooden bench).
One final word before my digression from things Fulham is complete. The Dean Windass story is an interesting one with twists and turns aplenty. From becoming the only player to be sent off three times in the same game to scoring the goal that won Hull City promotion to the top division for the first time in their history. Paul Fletcher's blog for the BBC summed this up quite well and looked at his hopes for the rest of the season with Oldham Athletic where he's currently on loan. However, even Fletcher couldn't have expected that what Windass would do next would be to take over in goal, survive a penalty and keep a clean sheet for 40 minutes to help Oldham to an away point at high flying Leicester. It's things like this that make Football great.
More good stuff from Mike Whalley at World of Sport. Fulham are building a comfortable lead in the race to be crowned Gubbometer champions. The '97 encounter against Wigan at the Cottage was one of our biggest games that season. I still remember the eruption of delight as Mark Blake slotted home an 82nd minute penalty that levelled the scores and rescued a point. Coincidentally, Wigan's midfield that day featured the talents of Roberto Martinez, an excellent player and key factor in Wigan's success. Martinez is of course now manager of Swansea City who we face in the F.A. Cup next weekend.
An almost inevitable scoreline that on the face of it seemed a good away point but proved to be a missed opportunity to claim that elusive first away win. Wigan are a team, very much like ourselves, making the most of their resources to keep clear of the mire that is the lower half of the table. Going in to the game I'd have been more than happy with a point. The comments of both managers suggest we played well enough to claim all three.
Disappointingly, Dickson Etuhu, who seemed to be finding his feet in the last couple of games, picked up a knock which lead to his replacement near the end of the first half. However, this did give us an extended opportunity to see Olivier Dacourt who, whilst clearly being short of match fitness, looked very much the part. Zamora had a couple of decent attempts and was much improved. A point Hodgson was quick to pass comment on - "Last week Bobby Zamora had a bad time and it was good to see him back today, doing what we need."
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia (Watson 18), Brown (Koumas 19), Cattermole, N'Zogbia, Mido (Zaki 42), Rodallega. Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Edman, Boyce, De Ridder. Booked: Figueroa.
