189. Hull - We Wanted Silva But It Looks Like We’ve Struck Gold

Date: 21st August 2021

Opposition: Hull City

Score: 2-0

Goal scorers: 🔥, Carvalho

Weather: overcast

Atmosphere: overflowing

MOTM: was it Gazzaniga for his first clean sheet? No. Was it Bobby Reid whose understudy’s performance at right back was every bit as good as Kenny Tete’s starring role? Not quite. Was it Antonee Robinson, equally good in attack and defence and effortlessly excellent at both? Almost. In fact it’s Jean Michel Seri whose ball skills, passing ability and ineffable control of the game are making the Championship his own

Cafe: Costa (drinks only, no snacks - sorry)

Saturday’s match was not Fulham’s most decisive win of the season so far or our best performance and it didn’t feature our most entertaining football. Instead, it was a businesslike victory in which the players encountered some major set backs but were unfazed by them and just got on with the job. In short, this is what a team needs to do week in, week out to win the league.

Those set backs included two injuries during the first half hour, both serious enough that we were thinking the electronic advert for Fulham/hospitality which was circling the ground needed to lose its ity.

Tim Ream didn’t want to leave the pitch and he didn’t even want to leave the ground such is our captain’s commitment to the cause. His intransigence meant he was present for Mitro’s goal although he reluctantly limped away rather than joining in the celebrations. In contrast, Kenny Tete was spirited down the tunnel before anyone even realised he was injured and it’s lucky Fulham are so adept at playing with 10 men as it was a while before Bobby Reid was able to come on.

Whilst we were positive that Bobby could step in at right back, we were less confident about the introduction of Alfie Mawson as the replacement for the stricken Ream. Mawson has history as the apex of the Triangle of Doom at its most scalene and we were dreading all kinds of defensive mix-ups and misplaced back passes. However, to our surprise, it was a seamless substitution with Alfie performing solidly and competently beside the excellent Tosin.

To return to Mitro’s goal: after his snatched shot against Millwall this was another Mitro classic - the expertly deviated header from a well-placed corner kick. The celebrations were as good as the goal and Mitro looks keen and deadly once more. After months of barely smouldering, the fire has reignited.

Mitro and Fab are already in a race for the golden boot and the young pretender wasn’t going to let the King of Goals get ahead of him. Fab’s goal came from one of Antonee’s superb passes. He juggled the ball with his feet and slotted it past the goalie.

Of course we all knew more goals might have been needed and the team tried to oblige with Mitro, Tosin and Seri all testing the goalie. It’s also worth mentioning that we didn’t have things all our own way. Hull had a period of dominance in the first half in which a team with better strikers would have gone ahead. We are good, and in some departments we are excellent, but we mustn’t get complacent.

By the time Marco brought Frank on at 70 minutes the game was won although Marco needs to be careful with this tactic - other teams have human rights and playing Seri and Frank at the same time is verging on illegality. But what a pleasure it is to watch this terrific pair come into their own. Seri in particular seems to be loving life and football at Fulham. His prolonged applause of the Hammy End as he waited to take a corner was a joy to be part of. That would be the same Seri who Scott Parker couldn’t get to play in the Championship and Claudio Ranieri could barely get to play in the Premier League. What a difference a manager can make.

Random musings:-

- We liked the diagonal stripes on Hull’s kit

- the applause when the players took the knee was stupendous and was joined by the Hull fans

- Joe Bryan had a lovely chat with the ball boy as he warmed up. This is a bit of a waste of his talents however….

- we appreciate that Marco’s black jumper may now be a lucky one but we’d like to see the return of the suit please

- as for Hull’s manager, he was dressed exactly like the fourth official

- on the subject of officials, this was the worst refereeing performance we have seen for some time. The ref seemed to automatically award everything to Hull when most decisions should have gone the other way.

- this is a bit of a Top of the League Problem, but it would be nice to see some Fulham goals at the Hammy End at some point…..

Probably the best thing about this match, over and above the goals, the clean sheet and the way injuries to key players didn’t disrupt the team, was the feeling that Fulham are only just getting going and there is a lot more to come. This win looked easy, because it was.

Marco said after the game that we were the best team on the pitch and of course that is true. But he knows, and we all know, that he took this job because we have the best team in the league. He must make sure it fulfils its potential. And we think he will. We wanted Silva, but it looks like we’ve struck gold.