Previewing Fulham’s Good Friday visit to Derby the Sky TV commentator tumbled into hyperbole. By the close of play, he reckoned, the two clubs could be on different planets.
In the end, there was nothing for Brian Cox to explain. The only certainty was that the Londoners could no longer aspire to ending the season with 100 points.
Derby despair
During the first half Fulham looked to be returning to form. In the 20th minute Joe Bryan, Fabio Carvalho and Bobby DeCordova-Reid swapped passes enabling Fabio to penetrate the home defence and place the ball past Ryan Allsop. The Portuguese starlet could have doubled his tally after a similar exchange, but his effort lacked power.
The second half brought an unexpected change. From deep in his own half Liam Thompson scooted down the left wing and provided Luke Plange with the simplest of goals. Millwall fan Rod Liddle now calls the Whites Mitrovic Athletic and County’s goal seemed to galvanise our top scorer.
He could not quite reach a low centre but then placed two headers on target. The first, from Neco Williams’s cross, proved underpowered but the second from Harrison Reed’s free kick drew a brilliant save from Allsop. Finally, Mitro did find the net, seizing on a rebound after Carvalho hit the post, only to be declared offside.
The winning goal, which came in the 73rd minute, was one that Fulham would have been proud of.
Unfortunately, it was scored by Derby County. A nifty backheel by Nathan Byrne allowed Tom Lawrence to catch the defence off guard. Tosin’s gallant attempt to intervene only helped the ball over the line. In added time the visitors almost saved a point. After substitute Rodrigo Muniz missed his latest chance Harrison Reed’s fierce shot was turned over the bar by Ryan Allsop.
Following his previous outburst, Marco Silva was quick to praise the travelling fans and thank them for their loyal support but some of his other comments were ill-judged, notably ‘We needed to be more aggressive. We had to stop attacks with tactical fouls.’
This season, despite some gamesmanship, Fulham have merited their reputation for good football, and the approach has paid rich dividends. Did Marco Silva really want to besmirch it in the last few matches? Would it have helped if Tosin played the man rather than the ball? He would have been sent off and the penalty could still have given County the winning goal.
Derby’s commendable fight against inevitable relegation ended on Easter Monday.
Promotion beckons
The following evening Preston visited the Cottage, no doubt hoping to frustrate the promotion hopefuls. The northern side went full tilt from the start and Marek Rodak made two vital saves while many spectators were settling into their seats.
In the 9th minute Mitrovic took over, receiving from Joe Bryan and sliding the ball past Daniel Iversen. This seemed to calm everyone’s nerves and indicate that promotion would be deferred no longer. On the half hour Rodak’s long clearance needed only two touches (Mitrovic and Neeskens Kebano) to reach Carvalho for his second Easter goal. Mitro brought his tally to 40 just before the interval.
The second half was goalless but worth watching. The supporters sang ‘If we win, we’re on the pitch’ and waited impatiently for the final whistle.
Like Gentleman Jim, I don’t care for such invasions. Maybe this one happened because the fans have waited four years to celebrate en masse. There should be more goals and more celebrations (properly organised) before this tremendous season is complete.
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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