Wouldn't it have been marvellous to take a Sunday morning stroll to Craven Cottage in time for the midday kick-off against Everton?
At least we were able to watch the match live on BBC One, thanks to a change of heart by the Premier League. Ironically if I had been sitting as normal in the Hammersmith End, my view of the first goal would have been blocked because it occurred within the first minute of the game while latecomers would still have been finding their seats.
Though Fulham wore jerseys reiterating a message about 'Safer Gambling' they gave little thought to the dangers of playing from the back.
Their opening strategy seemed to be to involve every member of the team in a passing movement within their own half. Unfortunately, Ola Aina and Bobby DeCordova-Reid were caught off-guard and they yielded the ball to Richarlison of all people. Sweeping forward the Brazilian created a simple goal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin 42 seconds after kickoff.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating defeat, the Whites rallied and forced the visitors to concede a free kick just outside the box. This was wasted, as was a subsequent corner, but then DeCordova-Reid atoned for his error by combining with Tom Cairney for a stylish equaliser.
The action shifted to the other end where Everton were twice thwarted, Calvert-Lewin (correctly) by the assistant referee and Richarlison spectacularly by Areola. For a lunchtime match it was remarkably skilful and exciting. This was confirmed by Everton's 14-man move that ended with Richarlison converting Lucas Digne's cross. Some officials might have deemed it offside, but it was impressive nonetheless. Just before halftime, Digne created a third Everton goal, his perfect centre allowing an unmarked Abdoulaye Doucoure to head the ball beyond Areola.
Whatever Scott Parker said at the interval (and like Alan Brownjohn's parrot it would not have been pleasant) the home side looked more cohesive in the second half – especially after Aleks Mitrovic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek came off the bench.
These two won a spotkick for Fulham (I promised myself to avoid the 'p' word in this blog) when Ben Godfrey illegally interrupted their progress. Ivan Cavaleiro, the latest recipient of the poisoned chalice, somehow managed to skid in his run-up, sending the ball over the crossbar and into the empty stand. Despair and disbelief ensued until the 70th minute when Loftus-Cheek scored in his own account from Ademola Lookman's pass. That left Fulham plenty of time to save a point – but they could not again penetrate Everton's massed defence.
Although there were positives to be drawn from this latest disappointment some of the players are not justifying their selection. Can they raise their game against Leicester, Manchester City and Liverpool?
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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