Bournemouth 2-1 Fulham
It may be tactless to mention both Fulham and Manchester United in the same sentence. But in last Saturday’s edition of The Times it showed that the clubs have something in common.
The Whites and the Red Devils are the only Premier League clubs to have spent less this season than last on fees paid to agents. United had reduced their squandering from £29million to £24.7million while Fulham’s payments had fallen from £10.2million to £8.8million.
Considering the quality of our squad one would have to admit that the money was well spent even if the season has taken a disappointing turn since that exciting sequence of results in February. The team has underperformed against Brentford and Arsenal and made an embarrassing exit from the FA Cup. The visit to Bournemouth could have prompted a recovery.
Having requested the Football Association to give him a personal hearing Marco Silva was in his regular position on the touchline. He had promoted Carlos Vinicius and Manor Solomon to replace the suspended Willian and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Omens looked good
Initially, the omens looked good. Fulham moved the ball with confidence and Vinicius, Solomon and Harrison Reed were involved in the 16th minute move that led to Andreas Pereira side-footing the ball past Neto.
The visitors dominated the first half and Antonee Robinson nearly doubled the lead with a shot that left the crossbar quivering. Official commentators Jim and Jamie smugly dismissed the home side as a Championship team perhaps forgetting the seasiders’ recent victory over Liverpool.
The Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil made crucial changes for the second half, sending on Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie.
The Fulham defenders found themselves under immediate pressure. Bernd Leno saved from Philip Billing and Dominick Solanke and when the keeper was lured out of position Tim Ream prevented a certain goal. After Kenny Tete lost his footing Tavernier won a corner on the left and moved to the right edge of the penalty area. From there his left foot sent the ball spinning into the top corner of the net.
With 40 minutes remaining, the balance had shifted to the home side. The normally unflappable Ream struggled to contain Solanke, and Tavernier and Christie combined to Test Leno. In the 79th minute, Christie again penetrated the defence and though Leno blocked his shot Solanke forced the ball over the line.
The keeper might have prevented both goals if he had followed the unfashionable practice of catching or smothering the ball instead of beating it out, but overall he had a fine match. His colleagues let him down in the second half as Marco Silva was only too aware: “We completely switched off. Every time we won the ball, we gave it away.”
Wembley is gone, and Europe is vanishing fast. The team needs a new motivation, such as equalling the tally of 53 points amassed in 2008-9 during Roy Hodgson’s first full season as manager.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Want to read more news stories like this? Subscribe to our weekly e-news bulletin.
