Tottenham Hotspurs 2 - 0 Fulham
For me an essential part of the matchday experience has always been the build-up of anticipation.
Managers fearful of the sack will prattle about 'winning ugly'. I want to watch the Whites challenge a team of equal or higher status and hold them to a draw or, better still, achieve victory with skill and teamwork.
My favourite opponents have always been Tottenham Hotspur.
Seventy-five years ago my mother and I stationed ourselves at the front of the Craven Cottage enclosure an hour before kick-off, the necessary procedure for a Fulham v Spurs match that drew a near-capacity crowd of 38,000. Our patience was rewarded with some classy football and an honourable point.
Over the years I have seen many high-quality games between these clubs – and quite a few honourable draws though not many victories.
Free kicks
Spurs fans will have expected last Monday night's fixture to be a relative formality that would take their team back to the top of the table. So, it proved but their victory owed much to two glaring errors from Calvin Bassey, who was deputising for Issa Diop.
Early in the first half a rash foul by Joao Palhinha gave the home side a free kick that could easily have led to a goal, but he atoned with a majestic header from an Andreas Pereira corner. The Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario thwarted him with an athletic one-handed save.
Although the home team looked dangerous on breakaways, for the first 35 minutes Bernd Leno was seldom troubled. Not unusually, Fulham's hopes rested on Willian.
So, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg decided to neutralise him with a late tackle that drew a yellow card. The resultant free kick could have prompted a Fulham advance, but tactics demanded that the ball go back to Leno, who fed Bassey on his right. The defender's pass fell nicely for opponent Micky van der Ven and seconds later Son Heung-Min was finding the corner of the net.
'Worst' half time of the year
If Marco Silva at the interval asked his players for more of the same, he should have made an exception for Bassey.
The luckless defender repeated his error, or as the club's website tactfully stated 'a loose ball presented itself to Richarlison'. The Brazilian passed to Son who set up James Maddison for the second goal. Tim Ream later helped Bassey avoid a bizarre hat-trick.
At least the visitors did not fold. Substitutes Raul Jimenez, Tom Cairney and Harry Wilson had decent opportunities, causing discomfort to manager Ange Postecoglou, who dubbed it 'the worst 45 minutes we've had with the ball this year'.
If Fulham had a goal scorer, the result could have been an honourable draw.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
