Jack and Loz Not at the Cottage - Blog 160

Date: 20th January 2021

Opposition: Manchester United

Score: 1-2

Fulham goal scorer: Ademola Lookman

MOTM (football): a tie between the indefatigable Kenny Tete in his best game for us - he gets from one end of the pitch to the other so quickly that teleporting must be involved and he always puts in a good tackle or cross when he gets there - and Harrison Reed, also in one of his best games for us - he was constantly hustling and Harrying the Man U attackers and breaking up the game while managing to drive forward and cause their defence problems too

MOTM (non-football): Marcus Rashford is looking out for the welfare and safety of millions of children in England and, almost single-handedly, it sometimes feels, holding the government to account. He is good at football too. He is an inspiration to us all but we’re glad he didn’t score on Wednesday night

Dinner: Loz- aubergine curry; Jack - veggie stir fry

This has to stop. It has to end now. No more Mitro Mystery, Cav’s Calamities or has Ruben Turned-Up? Most of all, this has to be the end of Fulham playing well (really well in fact) but falling just short.

We’ve all talked a lot recently about how Fulham look like a Premier League team and just as good as Liverpool/Leicester/Spurs/Southampton/[insert name of top 8 team of choice]. It was therefore notable on Wednesday night that for most of the game we actually didn’t look as good as Man U but such is the spirit of the team and the resilience of the defence that they clung on to the lead, fought to preserve the draw and then battled to wrestle back a point as if their lives depended on it.

Once again this was an assured display from the defence. Unlike Fulham, who have no strikers, Man U had about 5 but most of the time Andersen & Co held them at bay. Tosin was particularly good and Tete, as we have already mentioned, coped easily with the quality of the opposition. Joe Bryan played well but he just isn’t as dynamic and forceful as the suspended Robinson and we can’t help wondering if Saturday’s mistimed tackle has cost us yet another point.

The defence were only undone by bad luck (if only Areola had gathered the ball better! If only Cavani’s greasy hair had got in his eyes!) and a wonder strike. The game was lost because of continued failings at the other end of the pitch. We have all said it before but with his tangled legs in the six yard box he proved it again: Cav isn’t a striker. He has good qualities but composure and reaction in front of goal aren’t on the list. Lookman is an exceptional talent as he proved with his pace, vision and excellent finish, but he can’t do it all by himself. We missed Bobby and in the first half Ruben Wasn’t-There either. To be fair, RLC improved dramatically in the second half and looked like a threat but then transformed into Ruben Whatta-Miss as soon as he had a sight of goal.

We need a striker. We know it, Scott knows it, Tony Khan knows it, the rest of the league knows it. It really is that simple. If our attack improves as much as our defence then we can stay up.

As for the game itself, it was a good one. Man U are scrambling to the top of the table but Fulham didn’t show them much respect. We started well with Lookman confounding the United defence, Frank taking charge in the middle and the defence standing firm. We expected Man U to play their way into the game but they did more than that and took control of the first half. Soon Areola’s goal was under more or less constant bombardment from United’s merciless strike force. Everyone was behind the ball, closing ranks and skirmishing on the edge of the box. Sometimes we could hoof the ball away but there was no Fulham player to receive it and United would simply regroup and attack again.

Areola could have done better for the first goal but he has done so much right in recent games that we can’t blame him for a mistake on a wild and windy night on a slick and slippery pitch. Other than that single error, the defence, although run ragged and looking desperate for half time dealt with every attack Man U could construct.

The second half was fast and frantic both before and after the wonder goal. United looked dangerous every time they went forwards. Fulham looked dangerous every time we went forward until we got to the final third. Frank and Lookman faded but RLC showed us some of what he can do and Harrison Reed was everywhere- snapping, scrapping, grappling.

Scott got his subs right but brought them on much too late. It was the calm and determined AK who entered the fray, not the unpredictable immature one, and his pass for Ruben Whatta-Miss’s er....miss was sublime. It was good to see Lemina back (and not at Harrison’s expense) and was there something, just a glimmer, just a moment in the maelstrom of the old Mitro? The presence, the desire, the hunger for a goal?

It isn’t a surprise that the early lead was too hard to hang onto and this wasn’t a game which we deserved to win. But we deserved to play it and what we have to prove now is that we deserve to stay in the Premier League.

Random musings:-

- unusually, the ref had a good game.

- this was the first match where Scott’s side have scored the first goal and lost. That’s disappointing but it’s bit like the Brighton match bringing an end to the record of no goalless draws at the Cottage. It had to happen sometime.

- United decided to attack the Hammy End in the second half - usually a dirty tactic but a bit random when there are no fans in the ground......

- .......but what we wouldn’t have given to have been there....

The way the team fought to the end of this match against strong opposition was very impressive but the result remains the same. We cannot win. We are through this very difficult run of games and have come away with a few scraped together points and limited damage to our goal difference. But now is the time to step up. Now the good performances must be converted into points. Now, from somewhere, the goals must come.