Everton defeat puts serious dent in Fulham's Europe hopes

Fulham 1-3 Everton

Last Saturday at the Cottage I did not hear much talk about Europe. As one fan commented, the most satisfying outcome for this season would be Fulham's best ever points total in the Premier League.

Of our three remaining opponents Everton did not appear to be the most difficult and the opening half hour of the match passed satisfactorily. Whilst the Whites could have been more ambitious they were clearly better than their visitors. Marco Silva, who was watching from the stands after his latest dust-up with officials, later commented

'The first 30, 35 minutes was the level we want. Last ten minutes we started to lose … control of the game. It didn't happen before but it did in the last few weeks.'

David Moyes concurred admitting that his team were 'incredibly poor' in that opening period. Fulham exploited their superiority by taking a 17^th minute lead with Raul Jimenez's firm header from Emile Smith Rowe's lob. Harry Wilson nearly doubled the lead with a promising long shot that went just wide. The visitors' best response, from Jack Harrison, was directed straight at Bernd Leno. Alex Iwobi's miss and Jason Pickford's fine save from Wilson gave further reason to believe that three valuable points were within reach. The Welshman certainly did not deserve to be on the losing side.

With the first half drifting to a close we had one of those bizarre breaks where all the players head for the touchline to receive refreshment and/or instructions. Presumably Everton drew greater benefit because they scored in added time. After Calvin Bassey broke up one attack Andreas Pereira failed to make a proper clearance. James Garner's long throw caused panic in the Fulham defence and the Ukrainian Vitaliy Mykolenko had an optimistic shot deflected past Leno.

A promising exchange between Iwobi and Ryan Sessegnon early in the second period could not outfox Pickford but the keeper was nearly embarrassed when Harry Wilson spotted him out of position. The most acrobatic of saves somehow prevented a goal.

There ensued a bewildering four-minute spell that brought the visitors two goals. First Dwight McNeil's corner kick was headed in by Michael Keane. The goal's validity was debated at length because of Carlos Alcaraz's proximity to Leno. VAR eventually judged that the Evertonian had neither committed a foul on the keeper nor affected the play from an offside position. To make matters worse slack marking allowed Beto to break away almost immediately and score from a distance. For once Leno was at fault in not making a save.

Everton two goals up? It was difficult to know which set of fans was more shocked. Substitute Adama Traore briefly raised our spirits when his centre brushed against an Everton hand. VAR directed Darren England to the monitor but could not persuade him to penalise the player. Like the decisions on the second goal this may well have been correct but it would be good to know the reasoning. The margin of victory flattered Moyes's team.

Perhaps because Marco Silva was absent from the touchline, or perhaps because of renewed interest in the manager from Saudi Arabia, I did not hear the supporters singing his name during the match. Though his teams regularly run out of puff before the end of the season he has achieved a great deal in his spell with Fulham. I hope he stays.

Halftime highlights

The half-time break provided two reasons to be cheerful. The fans had the opportunity to congratulate the women's team for winning the London & South East Premier Division Championship and then to welcome back to the Cottage the heroes of the 1974/75 FA Cup run. The club had righty honoured the veterans with an anniversary dinner the previous evening and it was great to see them on the Craven Cottage turf.

Some sadists might add a third half-time delight when Everton's Nathan Patterson was inadvertently soaked by the sprinklers - to the amusement of team-mate Armando Broja. At least Broja did not score against his former club.