FULHAM .................. 0
LIVERPOOL ............ 3
Craven Cottage has been home to Fulham Football Club since 1896. While other clubs built brand new all-seater stadiums, Fulham stuck with their traditional stadium although they had to play games at Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers, for one and a half seasons prior to formation of GC279 while Craven Cottage was upgraded. In 2004 Fulham returned to Craven Cottage and they have remained there to the present day.
Fulham started Season 1 in Division 1, finishing a very credible 8th position but the following season seen them struggle and they were relegated to Division 2. An attempt to bounce back at the first time of asking ended with a defeat in the play offs, losing out to Leeds United in the Final. Season 4 was a poor one as they tried to rebuild and they finished 15th but they had bright hopes for the future of the club. They bright hopes didn't take long to be realised as, in Season 5, under new boss Ryan Gobble, they finished in 3rd place and went on to beat Leeds United in the play off final by 2-0, returning to Division 1 for the first time since Season 2. This season, a poor start seen them down at the bottom end of the table but a run of 3 victories has taken them to mid table. Tonight they are home to Liverpool and a win could see them move into the top half of the table.
Liverpool have been in the top flight since the start. Season 1 seen them finish runners-up to Manchester United and they kept up their challenge for a first league title but had to settle for third place behind Manchester United and Chelsea. The following season was not so good and they had to settle for 7th place. A slight improvement in Season 4 seen Liverpool back in the top 6 finishing in 6th place. Season 5 seen a slump as they finished in their lowest ever placing of 10th but a change of boss during the season definitely played a part. This season, under Kun Aguero, seen a dreadful start and they were lying bottom of the table. 6-1 defeats to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur seen the fans calling for Kun Aguero's head but he hopes he has turned around with wins over Reading and Chelsea in the last two games. A win tonight will see them into mid table but more importantly it will be a third win on the spin and maybe the fans will get off the managers back.
Just over 25,000 have paid their money to see this game. It is one of the glamour games for the Fulham fans. The Liverpool fans have filled the Putney End meaning there are around 3,000 and they are making plenty of noise. The team sheets have been handed out and Ryan Gobble has went for a 4-2-3-1 while Kun Aguero will line his side up in a 3-5-2 formation.
The teams are:
FULHAM: Stekelenburg; Hoogland, Marquez, Simons, Amorebieta; Zverotic, Tunnicliffe; Sinclair, Taggart, Kacaniklic; Mitroglou
LIVERPOOL: Courtois; Terry, Nastasic, Laporte; Coutinho, Kovacic, Paulinho, Henderson, Meyer; Sterling, Ronaldo
The teams were already out and Fulham would be kicking off and attacking the Hammersmith End of the ground. Looking down through the Liverpool team and it's a wonder they are not in the top 6. It's no surprise the Liverpool fans are expecting great things from this team. Fulham got us underway as the crowd roared and they started by playing the ball back into their own half and a few passes between the back four to let them get a feel of the ball and of the occasion. The ball was played through the middle where Kovacic intercepted and tried to get Liverool on the attack. Meyer tried to take it down the left but a firm tackle from Hoogland stopped him in his tracks. It was a laid back start by both sides with no urgency and the defences were not being stretched. The first 15 minutes seen no goalmouth action to speak of and unless things changed, the fans would soon be betting bored. On 16 minutes the first effort at goal came from Liverpool when Kovacic again had it in midfield but as he looked up there was no one free as Fulham marked tightly. Kovacic was still moving forward before he laid it off to the supporting Laporte. The French youngster had only one thing on his mind as he let fly from all of 25 yards and although it wasn't the most powerful shot ever seen, it was directed well enough to have Stekelenburg diving across his goal to palm the ball away to safety. It was the best effort at goal so far but there was still no defence splitting ball in sight. The game was developing into a midfield scrap and Fulham boss Gobble wouldn't be too upset with that. Fulham were holding their own and there were signs they were getting on top. Liverpool were falling a bit deeper than boss Aguero would have liked and he was out in the technical area trying to inspire his team to push up. Fulham's first real chance of the game came on 25 minutes and it was a chance that was to shape the rest of the half.
Craven Cottage match action
Adam Taggart had the ball just inside the Liverpool half and he was allowed to move forward without a challenge. He then spotted Sinclair making a diagonal run in from the left and he played the ball through into his path. Sinclair picked it up and he evaded a challenge from Henderson before side stepping Terry just inside the box. As he looked up he tried to place a shot past Courtois just inside the left hand post but Courtois got down and managed to save with his feet. It was a fine effort for Sinclair and it seemed to give Fulham a huge boost and the belief that they could take this Liverpool side. The fans were coming alive at last as they also sensed that maybe Fulham could win this game. Fulham continued to push Liverpool back as they probed for the opening that could lead to the first goal. Liverpool looked confident in weathering the storm and when Paulinho tried to make a rare forward run, Amorebieta's challenge brought him crashing to the turf. It didn't seem too bad a challenge but the referee decided it warranted the first card of the game and Amorebieta was in the book with 29 minutes on the clock. Fulham continued to push forward but apart from that one save, Courtois had little to do. On 33 minutes the best chance of the first half arrived with Fulham's Taggart sending a defence splitting pass in behind the Liverpool defence to Mitroglou's feet. The Greek striker didn't waste any time in firing in a shot that Courtois again had to rely on his feet to save. The resulting corner seen Laporte head the ball clear as far as Coutinho, who tried to start a break but his attempted pass through to Ronaldo was too heavy and the ball ran all the way through to Stekelenburg. Liverpool had been very disappointing so far and Ronaldo and Sterling in attack had been starved of any service.
Fulham had the best of the first half
The frustration was evident as Kun Aguero came out of his dug out to try and urge his players on to a better performance. Fulham were dominating with the lack of a cutting edge being all that was separating them from a one or two goal lead. Forward came Fulham again and with 41 minutes played Tunnicliffe fed Kacaniklic down the left wing. Coutinho had tracked back to challenge but Kacaniklic left him for dead as he reached the byeline. The Swedish wide man swung in a cross that was met by Taggart and he powered a header in towards goal only to see Courtois push the ball away for a corner. It was a great header from Taggart but Courtois showed why he is so highly rated with great reactions. The corner was swung in and worryingly for Liverpool, it was a Fulham player, Marquez, that got his head to it although it went well over the bar. As the half came to a close it was still Fulham that was doing all the running with Liverpool offering little going forward. The referee blew for half time and the players made their way off the park. Kun Aguero certainly had plenty to talk about with his players and try and find out why the team was looking so lethargic in that first half. Fulham could consider themselves unlucky to be going in at the break all square and boss Gobble will have been looking for more of the same with a goal being all that was missing.
HALF TIME: FULHAM 0 LIVERPOOL 0
Fulham were first out on to the pitch and not surprisingly were raring to go. There were no changes as Gobble would have been happy with the way the game was going although he would have warned his side that it was doubtful that Liverpool would be so inept in the second half. A minute later and Liverpool came out showing no changes to the personnel but I am sure that they had Aguero's words ringing in their ears. The Liverpool faithful still managed to give them a good reception with a special cheer for Courtois as he arrived to defend the goal with the Liverpool fans at his back. Ronaldo and Sterling got the second half underway by laying it back to Coutinho. The first thing that was noticeable was that the Liverpool midfield were holding their ground more and were determined not to give Fulham any advantage in that area of the pitch. Coutinho played the ball forward to Sterling who was pushed wide by Marquez however Sterling managed to hold on to the ball before finding space to send the ball into the penalty box. The ball was only half cleared to Kovacic, who was just inside the box, and he hit a shot that forced Stekelenburg to dive to make the save. Liverpool had been more dangerous in the first minute of the second half than they had been in the whole of the first. Fulham were sticking with the play that earned them so much possession in the first half but were finding it more difficult in the middle of the park as Liverpool kept their shape.
Coutinho playing like Suarez on the right side of the park
A Fulham attack was met by a strong and long clearance header by Laporte. The ball went as far as Sterling on the halfway line and he done a quick turn before knocking the ball past Simons and using his pace to sprint clear. He was clean through and as Stekelenburg came out to meet him he rolled the ball past him but, unfortunately, just wide of the post also. The tide was turning in Liverpool's favour as they started to pass the ball about with more confidence. It was Fulham's turn to start falling deeper as the visitors started to control the midfield with Coutinho in particular shining. On 54 minutes Liverpool came forward again with Paulinho playing the ball into Ronaldo's feet about 25 yards from goal. Ronaldo tried to turn under the attentions of Amorebieta but he was brought to the ground by the big defenders challenge and the ref blew for the free kick. A nervous Amorebieta looked at the referee almost half expecting his second yellow but the ref kept his cards in his pocket. Ronaldo, himself, was over the ball as he looked to have a go. He stepped up but it wasn't a pot at goal. Instead he swung the free kick into the box where it evaded everyone except Coutinho, who had made a run on the blind side. Coutinho didn't hesitate as he blasted the ball in to the top corner of the net. The Putney end of the ground erupted as Coutinho turned to be congratulated by his team mates with Ronaldo being picked out by the scorer for special hugs. It was a brilliantly taken goal by the man who had been outstanding since the break and an example to Fulham of how to score when on top. Aguero had leapt out his dug out at the goal and he was looking a much happier man.
Fulham restarted and immediately tried to push forward in response to the opening goal. Kovavcic went down the left but Terry was across to snuff out any danger. Liverpool picked it up again and were starting to pass the ball around with an assurance as they tried to stamp their authority on the game now that they had the lead. With another attempted attack by Fulham breaking down, Nastasic came out of defence with the ball and with plenty of space he sprinted forward. It was alien ground to the defender but he released a superb ball that split the defence and played in Sterling. Sterling ran on to the ball and hit it first time. It looked a cracker of a shot as it headed for the back of the net only for Stekelenburg to get across and make a superb save. That was almost the second as Liverpool showed how quick they could be on the break. The resultant corner was headed clear but only as far as Laporte who played the ball back again to Meyer on the edge of the penalty box. Meyer feinted to the right and slipped by Amorebieta before knocking the ball into Ronaldo. The Portuguese wonder boy controlled the ball with one touch before firing the ball into the roof of the net giving Stekelenburg no chance. Once again it was the red and white end of the ground that erupted in delight as the Liverpool players chased Ronaldo out to the wing. An hour on the clock and in the fifteen minutes of the second half Liverpool had turned the game round and romped into a two goal lead. A disbelieving looking Fulham kicked off again with no sign from Gobble on the bench thinking of making a substitution. Again Fulham tried to move forward and unlike the first half, they were again stopped in their tracks. Liverpool were playing the ball around without much effort and the gulf between the teams was easy to see. Gobble came out to his technical area trying to change a couple of things, trying to get Fulham back into the game but Liverpool were full of confidence and looked as though they could attack at will. The shouts from Gobble certainly worked in a way that the defence tightened up and space was not so easy to find for the Liverpool attackers. We were in to the last 20 minutes and the game had hit a lull period with defences on top and attacks fading. This was fine for Liverpool and also for their supporters who were spending more time singing than they were watching. On 73 minutes the ball again reached Coutinho midway between the halfway line and the box. Simons came in with a tackle and won the ball but he also took the player and the referee decided that was enough for a free kick despite the protests from Simon. It was Ronaldo who lined up to take it but it seemed a bit too far out for a shot so it was strange not to see Ronaldo going into the box. Ronaldo stepped up and sent a cross into the box where Meyer outjumped everyone to send a header into the top corner of the net with Stekelenburg at full stretch.
Liverpool celebrate a third goal
A superb header from a superb cross in and Liverpool were out of sight. Once again the fans were going wild while the players celebrated with Meyer. Even Aguero was out of his dug out to applaud a super header. Fulham just hadn't had a sniff in the second half and had been given a lesson in finishing by the now rampant Liverpool outfit. Fulham got us going again and still there was no sign of a substitution by either side. Liverpool were passing the ball about to cheers of ole!! from the Liverpool fans. A few Fulham fans were already on their way out to avoid the traffic and to be fair, there was no chance that Fulham could save this game. Fulham moved forward with 82 minutes on the clock but a tired looking Zverotic pass was intercepted by John Terry who sent the ball forward to Ronaldo at the halfway line. Ronaldo broke away with Hoogland right on his tail, and rifled in a shot before Hoogland could get a tackle in but Stekelenburg got right behind it and saved with both hands, clutching the ball to his body. With two minutes to go Fulham were pushing everyone forward in a vain attempt to salvage something from a game they had dominated in the first half but they were leaving gaps at the back that Liverpool could exploit. A wayward pass from Sinclair went straight to Terry and he started to break upfield before splitting the defence with a pass that found Sterling running clear. Sterling raced in on goal with Stekelenburg advancing but as he tried to place the ball past him, the keeper got the slightest of touches and the ball went past the post for a corner. Coutinho sent in a corner that the keeper did well to punch clear with Tunnicliffe completing the clearance. Not long after, the referee put the whistle to his lips and blew for full time. A loud cheer went up from the Putney End as Liverpool made their way to the dressing room, shaking hands with the Fulham players on their way. Gobble shook hands and congratulated Aguero who look delighted with another win that will have endeared him to the fans just a little bit more.
An impressive second half from Liverpool that gave them the points that moves them up to 13th in the table and if they can keep playing like that, except for the full 90 minutes, then they can keep climbing. Fulham will be disappointed with their performance that although had them in control in the first half, lacked bite and sharpness up front.
We managed to grab the two managers for their comments after the game. First of all, Fulham boss Ryan Gobble.
Ryan, you dominated that first half, what went wrong in the second?
Complacent. We knew a game plan coming into the game and we had it worked out on what to do, but fell into an end to end game which obviously didn't end well. When you're matched up against top sides with massive players like Ronaldo, you know what you have to do to get the result, but knowing it and doing it are two very different things.
You left Bradley and Lafferty on the bench. What was behind that?
Really weighed my options on it but it came down to the fact that it is survival for us in the top flight, and for us to stay here, it's a marathon, not a sprint. I need my best players for the whole season and with both of my boys having fitness issues, I knew it was time for rotation and putting trust in my whole squad.
Many had you relegated before the season started. Do you think you have the players to keep you in the Premier?
I think there is a chance for us to stay up, yes. Everyone can see the matches we have to play and set out a scoreline but we still have to go out and play the games. No one can guess the results 100% of the time and our team have the players to cause upsets and grind down games.
Villa away next. Do you think you can bounce back in that one?
I hope we can. It's a game I feel we will have to show our ambition to stay up and if it goes right it edges us that little bit closer to Premier league safety.
Thanks Ryan and good luck
Kun Aguero:
Kun, first of all well done, what a change in the second half. What did you say to them at half time?
Hi Fannie, indeed our second half performance earned us the 3 points. Fulham were the superior team when the half time whistle was blown, one of the most important and noticeable change in our tactics was we started using the whole area of the pitch to play direct balls to our fowards. Ronaldo and Sterling were not getting enough chances in first half and if your forwards cant get the ball its difficult to score.
First half you failed to put Fulham under any sustained pressure. What was the problem?
Our first half was below par, we tried to use the wing a lot but Fulham successfully countered our game plan and were piling the pressure on firing 3 shots on Courtois while we had only 1 chance. The game was played mostly in our own half and if no changes were brought sooner or later we would have conceded a goal. Also Fulham played 4 defenders with two sitting at the back which made short passes to our forwards difficult so a change was inevitable at half time.
Coutinho and Ronaldo were outstanding second half. Are they starting to click now?
Coutinho has been on fire lately, he and Ronaldo are pairing up very well and I expect some magical display from the duo in the near future, maybe in our next game itself against Tranmere who knows.
Another player who impressed me is Max Meyer. He played his first game tonight and fully deserved his goal. Sterling who wasn't too clinical in the 4-2-3-1 we adopted earlier has shown signs of improvement in the new 3-5-2.
Third win in a row. Do you consider Liverpool title contenders?
Not yet. To be honest Fannie, thinking about the title race now would cause more damage to our team's mentality when you see the massive 11 points gap Derby have on us. The disastrous start of this campaign affected us and winning games is the only remedy. We face Tranmere Rovers next and the team is focused only on that game. With Laporte out injured, another former Tranmere player
Juan might be in the starting line-up.
Thanks Kun and good luck for the rest of the season
So that's it for another game of the week. Well done to Liverpool on a clinical second half that won them the game and hard luck on Fulham who acquitted themselves so well in the first half only to be over run in the second.
Good night.
Fannie Licker @ Craven Cottage, London
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