Unfurl the banners. After three or four stumbles Fulham have finally produced the majestic performance that we longed for and shown themselves to be undisputed champions.
Right up to Monday’s home match against Luton Town the absurd possibility existed that Bournemouth could steal the title. Imagine how Scott Parker would have exulted.
The club had already ordered commemorative scarves and placed them on the seats before the match. As my daughter and I sit by the gangway we knew that one at least of our scarves would have been purloined by some desperate fan on the way to his or her seat, and so it proved. We will have to share the surviving scarf and it makes a most agreeable souvenir.
After watching some 1,500 Fulham matches, I have finally appeared in the crowd pictures of a major TV slot. Dear producers, why could you not have featured me half a century ago when my hair was luxuriant and auburn? As for the lines on my face, etched by countless years of supporting the Whites...
Fulham attack
The first half hour of Monday’s game was pretty humdrum. In an early Luton attack, Kal Naismith drew a diving save from Marek Rodak, after which the visitors fell back and tried to stifle the Fulham attack.
Referee Tim Robinson, who recently awarded Barnsley that dodgy penalty, soon needed to flourish his yellow cards even though manager Nathan Jones reckoned ‘We weren’t aggressive.’ Robinson had shown this tendency early in the season when Hull City visited the Cottage.
The Fulham/Luton stalemate was broken when Harry Wilson burst into the area and set up Tom Cairney for the hundredth League goal of the season, one of his left-foot specials.
The home fans could now relax and after Kenny Tete seized on a weak clearance to send a scorching drive past Matt Ingram the chorus ‘If we win, we’re on the pitch’ had changed to ‘When we win...’. Halftime gave us the chance to say a proper goodbye and thanks to Denis Odoi, subject of a last-minute transfer earlier this year.
Goals please
When the players returned to the field there was a sense of ‘job done’ but the Hammersmith End understandably wanted to see some second half goals in close-up. Helpfully Luton dallied, allowing Harrison Reed, Fabio Carvalho and Aleksandar Mitrovic to provide Carvalho with arguably the best move of the night. Next it was Mitro’s 42nd, courtesy of Tete and Wilson.
Whose turn now? To general satisfaction it turned out to be Bobby DeCordova-Reid, who began and finished a sophisticated series of passes. Luton had virtually surrendered, as shown by Admiral Muskwe releasing the ball to Harry Wilson for the fifth goal of the evening.
Of the three substitutes, Jean-Michael Seri, Neeskens Kebano and Rodrigo Muniz, all eager for action, it was the Frenchman whose long-range effort penetrated a packed defence. Well into added time Mitrovic gave the match the best possible ending, his 43rd goal equalling the club record – and with one game remaining.
Despite Canute-like appeals from the PA and the scoreboard, the pitch invasion ensued. There seemed to be more people on the field than had attended the match – but eventually it was possible to award the trophy and photograph the champions with their amazing management team. What a night.
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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