Birmingham began their visit to the Cottage by kicking the ball into touch. Fulham responded with two bizarre errors (by Michael Hector, then Anthony Knockaert), which could have left the home side two goals in arrears.
There ensued what we used to term an end of season match with little artistry or excitement but plenty of yellow cards. Anyone affected by insomnia should watch a recording of the first half.
The introduction of Joe Bryan, Neeskens Kebano and Josh Onomah after the interval did bring some improvement though the goalkeepers went largely untroubled.
Knockaert gathered Bryan's centre and fired just wide of the post. A subsequent shot from Kebano missed by a greater margin but was further evidence of a more positive attitude. With five minutes of normal time remaining Birmingham keeper Lee Camp blocked Josh Onomah's low drive and then performed an astonishing double save from Joe Bryan and Bobby Decordova-Reid.
The Blues must have thought that they had secured a point but the additional time grew ever longer. Fulham had nine minutes in which to compensate for the previous 90 and an inspired exchange of passes between Decordova-Reid and Harrison Reed allowed Onomah to score the winner.
The goal scorer deservedly received a place in the starting line-up at Nottingham Forest together with Kebano and Bryan.
In a first half considerably higher in quality than was displayed in the Birmingham match the teams tested each other cautiously and there were few opportunities to score. Just before the interval the unpredictable Harry Arter produced another of his surprise goals.
He seemed to have lost control of the ball but when it rebounded to him he regained his balance and shot on the turn, finding the top right-hand corner of the net.
This perfectly timed and gloriously executed goal compelled Forest to attack throughout the second half, whilst Fulham defended effectively and organised further incursions. After substitute Knockaert's brave performance it is no surprise to hear that he has signed a permanent contract after a year on loan.
Though the referee could have given either side a penalty for handball, Arter's remained the only goal. The whole team deserved the victory – their third in succession, all without Aleksander Mitrovic. The striker should take note and mend his ways.
Looking for Douglas
I mentioned in an earlier blog that Fulham supporter Jamie Glynn had uncovered the surnames of 13 young men who in December 1883 played football for St Andrew's, the forerunner of Fulham FC. There are no first names of course and hardly any initials, but it is a priceless addition to our knowledge.
I will devote a later blog to the whole squad concentrating here on the two names that otherwise do not appear in club records – Freemayne and Douglas.
The former is so rare that it may have arisen from someone mishearing or misreading the player's actual name. The 1883 cricket team included Tremain, probably Charles. He was known to be a footballer and it seems likely that he was one of the two 'new' names.
Douglas is a different matter. The first St Andrew's footballers came from Fulham's Lillie Road area, and I expected to find several young men there with that Scottish surname. My researches produced none; William Allen Douglas, the only possible candidate, lived further from St Andrew's Church than any of those early players.
William was born in Fulham in the summer of 1868. His mother Elizabeth came from East London, his father Thomas from Wolverton, Warwickshire. Thomas worked as a leter carrier but by 1881 had become resident gardener at Hurlingham House. That was some distance from Lillie Road but William was a painter/decorator and in his work could well have encountered members of the football club, who invited him to join the team.
The Douglas family moved around Fulham and by 1891 were living in Edith Road in the parish of St Andrew's Church. William got married that year and settled in Bramber Road. Their daughter was baptised at St Andrew's. These later events have no bearing on the 1883 football team but for the first sixty years of his life William was loyal to the district of Fulham, never residing beyond Chelsea's Worlds End
Ryan Jefferies, who is researching William, described him as 'a big guy on photos dating to 1919 so I highly doubt he would have been the type of a footballer'.
True, William looks an avuncular gentleman with a healthy appetite but he may have been slimmer 30 years previously. In any case these were not professional athletes but artisans, labourers and clerks enjoying their Saturday half-day kicking a ball around.
They probably ran out of puff after 60 minutes. It cannot be proved that William played for St Andrew's, but he remains the most likely candidate. I will consider the others later this month.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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