It's an absolutely sodden Fulham Palace Road as I meet my old mate Tim and his son Jamie, who have blagged some tickets in the strange 'neutral' section at Fulham that is now full of WHU fans. There's six inches of water as we step through the turnstile. At least the rear of the Putney End is covered and relatively dry as I huddle down in my Gore-Tex and fleece on a freezing and sodden evening. Still, it's nice to be in an old-fashioned ground surrounded by houses. Fulham's screen lis so small you'd think Karren Brady probably has a bigger TV in her office.
As the game kicks off the away fans enjoy themselves with a jukebox selection of "My name is Ludek Miklosko" and "Oh Christian Dailly you are the love of my life!". Fulham have an early chance when Kamara is clear but Fabianski saves well. Anderson always looks to have the beating of Odoi and the Hammers take the lead as after a fine ball from Noble the Brazilian expertly hurdles a sliding challenge and crosses low to Snodgrass. Snoddy hits a screamer into the corner and we enjoy watching the net bulge as the rejuvenated Scotsman rushes to the jubilant away section. Two in two for Robert.
"ANTONIO… ANTONIO… ANTONIO!"
Fulham respond quite well to going a goal down as Kamara has a free header saved by Fabianski and then the keeper has to gather another low effort from Mitrovic. But they can't cope with WHU on the break. Again Anderson gets free and crosses for Chicharito to head on to the unmarked Antonio. Michail does well to take the ball down and calmly slot it through Ruiz's legs. Two-nil to the cockney boys and Javier's first assist in four years.
Fulham's defensive plight is summed up by an Anderson nutmeg causing two defenders to run into each other and knock each other out. Antonio, playing as a striker, is also causing all sorts of problems with his ability to hold the ball up and work the channels and appears to have his speed back.
The second half sees Fulham play some nice passing football, but only really creating a couple of melees that are cleared by Diop and Balbuena. The Hammers continue to threaten on the wings with Masuaka and Anderson on the left and Snoddy on the right, though we always seem to get the final ball slightly wrong. Rice and Zabaleta keep things tight defensively and at times it's almost showboating as the lads pass it around and look a really confident side.
WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE?
The West Ham fans enjoy the chilly win, as they sing "Pellegrini's claret and blue army!" and "Two more years two more years, Zabaleta!" There's a new song for Felipe Anderson and of course Jingle Bells. Anderson almost adds a third at the end, his effort producing a good save from Rico.
Four wins in a row is a remarkable transformation. Admittedly Nrewcastle, Cardiff, Palace ands Fulham are among the division's poorer sids, but we've lost these type of games before. And with the fans finally adding Pellegrini's name to the Claret and Blue Army chant it's almost feeling like a united club again. An enjoyable away day and worth the soaking.
PLAYER RATINGS: Fabianski 7; Zabaleta 7, Diop 7, Balbuena 6, Masuaku 6; Anderson 8, Rice 7, Noble 6 (Obiang 6), Snodgrass 7; Hernandez 6 (Carroll 5), Antonio 7 (Diangana n/a).
4 comments:
Neutral zone, how does that work?!
Only Fulham seem to have one! Supposedly for fans of neither club, though in practice it fills up with the away fans and tourists.
Great game again, I thought Fulham played well in patches although confidence was obviously brittle, what great strike for Snodgrass to put that goal away it was classy ( fair play to Snoddy for applying himself despite the negativity of some )
Are we safe? I hope so but how pleasing to see the injury ravaged team playing such an attractive style of football! COYI
I think on 24 points we are nearly safe already Rob, another ten should do it as teams all poor. But maybe a little late to make a bid for the title!
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