A visit to Queens Park Rangers for an FA Cup Third Round tie would once have been a mouth-watering prospect – but in 2021 it stirred little interest both before and after the event.
Mark Warburton put out a strong team while Scott Parker turned to players who had, in his words, ‘worked tirelessly but not enjoyed enough matches as they would have liked ‘. Terence Kongola, Kenny Tete and Josh Onomah were all in the starting line-up together with Joe Bryan, rarely seen since his heroics in the Play-Off Final. All gave competent performances, as did the popular favourites Marek Rodak and Tim Ream.
In the absence of spectators, the match lacked atmosphere and excitement for most of its length. Early on the Rangers’ keeper Seny Dieng gave Joe Bryan a free shot at goal but his looping attempt went just wide. The first half saw players from both sides squander chances including Aleks Mitrovic, who misdirected a simple header just before the interval.
After an hour Ivan Cavaleiro had a clear run at goal, only to vacillate and then pass to Mitrovic, The Serb’s low shot was blocked on the line by Yoann Barbet. Almost immediately Parker replaced Cavaleiro with Bobby DeCordova-Reid.
Though extra time was needed Fulham fans were spared a penalty shoot-out when a slick exchange of passes with Mitrovic led to DeCordova-Reid opening the scoring. Another substitute Neeskens Kebano gleefully added a second. The two-goal deficit exaggerated the difference between the teams but justified Parker’s selection.
Feeling sorry
The FA’s hasty rearrangement of fixtures meant that Fulham had to visit Spurs in mid-week to complete the postponed Christmas match. Parker’s justifiable concern at the lack of time for preparation was dismissed by Jose Mourinho, who never complains about fixtures, who said: “We should wait to see their starting line-up bench and the players not involved and after that we can all feel sorry for them. My feeling is, the best Fulham will be here. Then they should apologise to us.”
Jose was right. The starting line-up and the three substitutes did represent the best Fulham. They showed scant respect for the north London side and actually outplayed them as the match progressed. Cavaleiro’s headed goal was every bit as good as Harry Kane’s opener. With greater accuracy Fulham could have won, though Heung-Min Son missed two chances that would normally have been easy for him. Still, the richly deserved point was a morale-booster.
One for Tosh
Cavaleiro’s equaliser came from Ademola Lookman on the left and would have delighted Tosh Chamberlain. The legendary left-winger, born in London on 11 July 1934, died at the weekend.
This is what I wrote about him back in 2013 when he with George Cohen and Les Strong unveiled a plaque in St Andrew’s Church Fulham Fields to celebrate Fulham FC’s foundation: “Trevor ‘Tosh’ Chamberlain, in conversation with Peter Lupson, author of Thank God for Football, recalled how hard it was for him to break into the Fulham team in the 1950s because the club already had a first class outside left in Charlie Mitten.
“I remember that well because Chamberlain was first linked with Fulham around the time I started supporting them. My 1949 FA Book for Boys records his three-minute hat-trick for England Schoolboys against the Irish Republic. Fulham signed him and we soon saw for ourselves his speed and his ferocious shooting in the reserves. But it was not until November 1954 that he got he got his chance to play for the first team
He was replacing the injured Charlie Mitten and the Lincoln defenders were shocked when he thumped the ball into the net with his very first kick. Fulham supporters were less surprised especially those who had recently witnessed his hat-trick against Charlton in the London Challenge Cup.
“There was further frustration for Trevor as Mitten only missed five more games during the rest of the season, but one of those absences allowed manager Frank Osborne to experiment with a very young forward line of Tony Barton, Bobby Robson, Roy Dwight, Johnny Haynes and Chamberlain.
“After Mitten had played the first 18 League matches of 1955-56, Trevor was needed for the visit to Liverpool but as he later admitted ‘I wished I hadn’t bothered’ – Fulham lost 7-0. The Christmas period gave him further chances and he took them eagerly.
“In the 1950s, slow motion analysis was expensive and rarely used, but Trevor’s technique would have made an ideal subject. From a few sequences that I filmed then on a primitive cine camera I realised that he would approach the full-back, suddenly accelerate throwing him off balance and then take a complete change of direction, surging through the gap left by the hapless defender. Against Middlesbrough, Trevor scored one and provided Bobby Robson with another.
“After a fine performance against West Ham, the press hailed his powerful shooting and his ability to panic defences – but no one anticipated his performance in the home tie against Newcastle in the FA Cup. After all the Geordies were a top team especially in the Cup and they quickly went into a 3-0 lead. Trevor alone unsettled the Newcastle defence, scoring what seemed to be a consolation goal before half-time.
“What a consolation. Fulham rallied in the second half and Trevor completed yet another hat trick. He even put his team in the lead with a fourth until the linesman Jack Taylor convinced the referee to disallow the goal for offside. Although Fulham eventually lost 5-4, Trevor chose the game for ‘The Match of My Life’ (Michael Heatley 2005) and I think every fan who witnessed it would agree. For me it took over half a century for another game (our victory over Juventus) to compare with that epic struggle in 1956.’
I ended the blog with a direct address:
“Thanks, Tosh. It is hard to imagine what Fulham FC would have been like without you.”
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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