Jack and Loz Not at the Cottage - Blog 170

Date: 4th March 2021

Opposition: Tottenham Hotspur

Score: 0-1

MOTM (football): Ola Aina was immense in both attack and defence.

MOTM (non-football): we have always been big fans of Kevin McDonald for his battling qualities as much as his footballing ones. He will need all of them now as he faces the challenge of a kidney transplant but we have no doubt he will come through better than ever and straight back into a coaching role at Fulham

Snacks: Loz - veggie burger; Jack - nachos


One of the worst things about lockdown is having to watch matches on television. It was bad enough on Thursday evening having to tune into Spurs TV to watch a match at the Cottage but things got rapidly worse when the program morphed into an episode Police Camera Action!


Things started quite well - Fulham looked determined, fast and full of energy. We gave the ball away too much but we were good at winning it back - Harrison Reed in particular. Knowing he was facing one of the best defences in the league, Jose Mourinho, who was looking particularly morose, had picked a terrifyingly strong attack. But nothing scares Joachim Andersen and Alphonse Areola and they frustrated attempts on goal whoever they came from and however bad their hairstyle was.


The first frustrating moment of the game was conceding such an annoying goal. Spurs’ build up play was good and they made enviable space for themselves as they forged forwards - but their shooting was poor and the goal (unkindly awarded to Tosin) came from a mistake, albeit a forced one.


At the other end, Lookman had a good early chance and Lemina an excellent late one but the Fulham goal drought continued. Maja was starved of service and although RLC was good at standing up to Spurs’ overly tough tackles he did little else.


If Fulham were in danger of being overrun in the first half, the opposite was the case in the second - we had most of the possession, most of the shots and none of the luck. Spurs struggled to cope with the combined efforts of Cav, Maja, Lookman, Aina and Robinson. Harrison Reed was up there too, linking the attacks together pass by pass and both Andersen and Tosin came close to scorning from headers.


And there was The Incident. There is no point in dwelling on it. The laws of football conflict with the law of nature which dictates that a man has arms and that the natural position of those arms is by his sides. If you are a Big Club that conflict may be resolved in your favour. If you are a small, special, fair minded club, VAR will add insult to injury and snatch a point away from you cruelly and unjustly.


In the aftermath, however, let’s not forget the power of Josh Maja’s strike, or the way his smile lit up the Cottage. We must remember that heads didn’t drop after this calumny and Fulham’s efforts to score an equaliser that the officials wouldn’t be able to rule out were redoubled.


It’s also worth mentioning that robbery wasn’t the only crime we had to deal with. In football, you expect a bit of casual assault in a tackle, a bit of light battery in a tussle for the ball, a few yards pilfered in a throw in or purloined for a free kick. You don’t expect fraud or swindling or sharp practice. You don’t expect professional footballers to throw themselves on the ground and roll around in badly feigned agony to try to steal a foul from their opposition. In particular, if you are a former England Captain, you must watch in disgust when your successor does all of these things and more in an attempt to influence the game. And what’s worse is that those attempts were allowed by the officials.


As this is a football blog and not Crime and Punishment, in either length or content, we will move on. The second half was another very good display of what this team can do. Once again, we looked as good, if not better, as a Top 6 team. And once again we didn’t get the result we deserved.


Random musings:-


* Spurs chose to shoot towards the Hammy End in the 2nd half. Didn't they notice that the ground was empty?


* one point in Jose’s favour - it was classy of him to wish KMac well in his pre match interview


* it was nice to see Frank with his hair down before arranging it in his trademark ponytail


* from the middle of the 1st half all of our players were sweating like it was a hot summer's day rather than a cold March night, such was their exertion


* Another complaint about VAR - Cav won a corner at 27 mins as shown by VAR but the ref awarded a goal kick as apparently VAR doesn't cover corners. But why not?!


* Areola made a couple of great saves including one near the end of full time.


* Not only do Spurs have the worst hairstyles in the league but surely Hojbjerg is suing the tattooist who did that to his arm?


*It was nice to see Mitro but dare we suggest that Bobby might have been a better option....?


As appalling frustrating as that match was, we have to try to take the positives and move on. We are creating chances and restricting the opposition’s. We are composed, organised and full of running. We still have one of the best defences in the league. There are still 11 games left and we are in touch with 17th place. Scott must keep the players focused and fired up and we know he will.


And we must keep the faith. The performances are there. The results will come.