What was I thinking? Did I really write these words last week?
‘It has been a month since the Whites’ last home appearance and the players will deserve every decibel of their reception next Sunday.’
The decibels were muted and I even heard some boos as Coventry City delivered a lesson in attacking football and solid defence.
Perhaps this setback should not have been a surprise. Fulham had played poorly in mid-week but gained three points because Middlesbrough failed to take their chances. Coventry proved less generous.
Aware of their hosts’ reputation for slow starts, City began their assault from the kick-off and it was little surprise when they took the lead in the 20th minute.
Ignoring the fact that Dominic Hyam had already missed an easy chance of a headed goal, the Whites’ defence looked unprepared for Gustavo Hamer’s corner. Only Antonee Robinson and Aleksandar Mitrovic were anywhere near Michael Rose as he nodded the ball home.
Fabio Carvalho was quick to respond but his long-range effort was deflected wide. City were still thirsty for goals and Viktor Gyokeres’s speculative drive was badly misjudged by Mark Rodak, who let the ball slip over the line.
A header from Mitro gave some encouragement and Neeskens Kebano volleyed just over, but the first half finished with the improbable score of Fulham 0 Coventry City 2.
With Bobby DeCordova-Reid replacing Nathaniel Chalobah we saw some improvement after the break but only in patches. Fulham did not really threaten until the arrival of Rodrigo Muniz and Josh Onomah with 15 minutes remaining.
After Josh and Bobby DeCordova-Reid fashioned a goal worthy of the prospective champions, the fans dared to believe that a point could be saved. Regrettably, urgency was lacking. With seconds left Rodak delayed releasing the ball and then tried a short pass to Tim Ream, who was caught off balance.
Gustavo Hamer nipped in and presented Callum O’Hare with a simple goal to complete the humiliation. With so many home players out of position the striker looked offside but for once the dispirited team did not bother to harangue the officials.
Observing the lack of decibels during the match, Marco Silva praised the visitors: ‘All of them, they were better – even their fans, they were better than ours I believe – and it’s a good moment for all of us to learn.’
The defeat has merely delayed the day of promotion but it serves to emphasise that Fulham cannot take any opponents for granted – in the Championship, let alone the Premier League.
I do not hold with booing or personal abuse, but Silva should remember that fans are also paying customers – £1,000 for a season ticket in the new stand – and they have the right to withhold their applause.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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