Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
Growing up in an enlightened household I was permitted only one prejudice – a mild aversion to Chelsea FC.
In the 1949-50 season when the clubs met for the first time in the top tier, I expected something special. But both matches, home and away, turned out to be sterile draws.
This was not the case in December 1950 when I followed the team to Stamford Bridge. The Sunday Pictorial’s Jack Peart summed the match up: “Glad note at Chelsea was 17-year-old Bobby Smith’s goal after three minutes... in his second League match. Sad note was the sending off of wee Jimmy Bowie after the interval. More than that we would not care to say.”
The Whites were already 2-0 down when wee Jimmy left the field (I must admit to participating in the boos) and Fulham rarely perform well against 10 men. I was not the only fan to be mystified when our club backed Bowie at his personal hearing and signed him a few days later.
It was a player exchange, which meant the popular Wally Hinshelwood departing for Stamford Bridge. How could this happen? It was an early warning for me that prejudice can blind one to reality.
The name Hinshelwood may sound familiar. His great grandson Jack plays for Brighton. Help!
Return match
Fulham lost the 1950-51 return match 2-1. This came right at the end of the season and the Blues needed the points. Many cynics suspected that Fulham were happy to lose rather than forfeit future local derbies, so the crowd spontaneously sang ‘Dear old pals’.
If true it was illogical because teams like Liverpool, Stoke and Derby drew bigger crowds to the Cottage than Chelsea did.
Further meetings
There were however two further meetings of the teams that season, in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup. After a creditable draw at the Bridge Fulham won 3-0 at home with two goals from Bobby Brennan and one from Arthur Stevens. I had to miss that replay because without floodlights the match started early on a weekday afternoon.
My parents indulged me non-stop but they both had a lifelong respect for education, so I had no chance of a sicknote. Perhaps it was for the best.
The only other Fulham fan in my class did persuade his mum to excuse him with a short-lived cold. If we had both been absent, we would have been in for a grilling on our return in spite of parental letters.
Anyway, the result made up for missing the match. How could I have known that I would be watching Fulham for the next seven decades and very rarely see a victory over the Blues?
Monday’s derby
Which brings us to last Monday’s match at the Cottage. It may not have been Dear Old Pals, but I have never seen a Fulham team approach this fixture in such a sloppy and uninvolved manner. In the first half the defence was generous to the opposition, the midfield ineffective and the attack non-existent.
If the home side had a plan, it was to give Chelsea a series of openings in the hope that their strikers would embarrass themselves. This worked initially with Mykhail Mudryk one of several Blues to misfire. But in the 18th minute, Levi Colwill was allowed to chase a loose ball, control it and pass for Mudryk to outwit Bernd Leno. Apparently, the Ukrainian has been struggling to score so maybe Raul Jimenez should take heart.
Barely a minute later Tim Ream, desperate to regain the ball, kicked it against Armando Broja and the rebound doubled Chelsea’s lead. That virtually ended the match.
Nothing in response
The Whites offered nothing in response and the referee Tim Robinson turned a blind eye to the visitors’ time-wasting. The Hammersmith Enders understandably called for Carlos Vinicius to be introduced – but managers tend to ignore advice from the stands. Marco Silva made no changes at the interval.
Gradually Vinicius, Alex Iwobi, Tom Cairney and Sasa Lukic replaced their floundering colleagues and Fulham at last showed some purpose. Cairney made a wonderful opening for Lukic, but his fierce, close range shot just bounced off the keeper. Chelsea’s lead was never in danger and the five minutes of added time proved a formality.
I perceived only one ‘glad note’ The fans in the centre of the Hammersmith End once again elected to stand during the match, inconveniencing others especially children and people with a disability. As the match proceeded, they slumped into their seats and not a few of these ‘true supporters’ slipped away before the final whistle.
Chelsea fans have long maintained that this fixture has no special significance. On Monday evening, for the first time, I wondered if they were right.
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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