Last week, I lamented the low expectations that many sportswriters had of Fulham's survival in the Premier League. Leeds United on the other hand have been widely praised. So how would the teams fare when they met at Elland Road?
The midweek victory at Ipswich convinced Scott Parker that Aleks Mitrovic was ready to return to the starting line-up. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa also won a place as did newcomers Alphonse Areola and Kenny Tete. Alphonse was in for a testing afternoon against Helder Costa and his colleagues who ran Fulham ragged just three months ago.
In the fourth minute, a Leeds corner led to Costa, unmarked, thumping the ball past the French keeper. Fulham equalised half an hour later when Joe Bryan was tripped as he was leaving the penalty area. Joe reciprocated almost immediately by giving Leeds a penalty with an equally naïve push on Patrick Bamford. Was that an example of Fulham being in Parker's words 'too nice'?
After being 2-1 down at the interval the visitors appeared to collapse in the second half. Goals by Bamford and Costa suggested that Fulham were as inferior to Leeds as they were to Arsenal. A five-minute spell when Bobby Decordova-Reid and Mitrovic scored with style helped to challenge that idea. Neeskens Kebano also hit the post in a match that provided excitement and a modicum of encouragement but no points for Fulham.
Cup memories
Once again, a defeat in the Premier was followed by victory in the Carabao Cup, this time a 2-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday. The team played well and individual players like Aboubakar Kamara, Anthony Knockaert and Marek Rodak staked a claim for more first team action. The victors now face Brentford – for the third time in five months.
On Wednesday, Fulham and Chelsea were both playing at home, which reminded me of a crazy afternoon over half a century ago.
It was the 3rd Round of the FA Cup taking place on Saturday the 27 January 1968, and Chelsea and Fulham were both drawn at home, against Ipswich and Macclesfield respectively.
To avoid traffic jams the kick offs were staggered, and I was among the idiots who vowed to watch both matches. This would have been simple with a helicopter but by other means it was cutting it fine, so I left Stamford Bridge before the end (no great sacrifice) and reached the Cottage just as the teams were kicking off.
Fulham were top tier, Macclesfield non-league, but it was a particularly poor season for the Whites.
When the Chelsea fans reached the riverside a few minutes after me they were ecstatic to discover that Fulham were losing 2-1. An unholy alliance was formed, and the chant of 'Macclesfield and Chelsea' resounded from the terraces.
Allan Clarke
Almost the only Fulham highlight that season was the emergence of centre forward Allan Clarke, and he changed the course of the match. Surging through the defence he was tackled from behind – a legitimate tactic then but one that required precise timing. Clarke hit the ground as if felled by a sniper.
The referee saw it as a clear penalty though the visiting players – and the unholy alliance – made a lengthy and vociferous protest.
Clarke scored from the spot and Fulham won 4-2. It must have been a quiet day football-wise because the incident caused a lot of brouhaha, even demands for a replay, though photos and TV coverage seemed to validate the referee's decision.
Some Macclesfield fans may have gloated over Fulham's subsequent misfortunes.
For the 1998-99 season, both clubs were in the same division of the Football League, but by then Kevin Keegan was our manager and we were bankrolled by Mohamed Al Fayed. The Whites finished first, Macclesfield 24th.
Incidentally, Fulham won 31 matches that season and lost seven, so our defeats do not always outnumber our victories.
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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