Bournemouth 3-0 Fulham
I hailed the Whites' 5-0 victories as early festive presents. Unfortunately the fixtures closest to Christmas both turned out to be disappointments. Each one looked appetising when unwrapped but the batteries soon failed and then everything started falling apart. We may need the January sales after all.
Bournemouth on Boxing Day
Boxing Day brought a visit to Bournemouth. The Fulham defence faced a hectic afternoon and Tosin was soon in action blocking the goal-bound efforts of Dominic Solanke and Justin Kluivert. Bernd Leno also made a vital save but the club commentators Jim and Jamie spotted that the keeper for once looked below par.
Sure enough when Alex Scott strolled through the visitors' ranks and passed to the unmarked Kluivert, the Dutchman's low shot slipped beneath Leno's diving body.
A goal down at the interval Fulham needed a quick equaliser but in a Bournemouth breakaway Chelsea-born Antoine Semenyo worked the ball into the area and was then barged over by Joao Palhinha. Leno had no chance of stopping Solanke's perfectly judged penalty.
The Whites' resistance was limited to an optimistic attempt from Rodrigo Muniz, and Bournemouth substitute Luis Sinisterra delivered the final blow switching the ball from the left to the centre before thumping it past the Fulham keeper.
Amazon Prime showed the match live and the main talking point was an incident around the 74th minute. Bernd Leno, understandably aggrieved at the slowness of a pitch side youngster to part with the ball, wrested it off him and tactlessly but not roughly pushed him away.
This sort of thing happens periodically and rarely looks good for the player but what is he to do? Referee Tim Robinson cleared the touchlines cancelling the multi-ball system for the rest of the match.
We Hammersmith Enders appreciate Leno's outstanding rapport with the crowd. How many gloves has he given away? He publicly apologised to the young boy and to the spectators and if he is censured, the Bournemouth club should also be taken to task.
Burnley at the Cottage
The home match against Burnley on Saturday 23 December made history as the first Premier League game refereed by a woman. It was a step too far for some of the younger Fulham fans (I mean those in the 40s–70s category) but they will get used to the idea eventually.
Rebecca Welch did her job with quiet efficiency and minimal assistance from VAR. All right, Calvin Bassey was a trifle unlucky but someone had to be the first Premier League player cautioned by a female referee.
The first half, whilst not particularly exciting, did suggest another decisive home win. The Whites peppered the visitors' goal and Harry Wilson, Palhinha and Alex Iwobi all tested Burnley's efficient keeper James Trafford.
Normally Fulham improve after the interval but on this occasion Vincent Kompany must have given the better pep-talk. Exchanging passes with Mike Tresor, Wilson Odobert curled a glorious shot well beyond Leno's reach.
The home defence, which had looked solid, started backing off and in the 66th minute Sander Bruge was unchallenged as he ran through to score. There was little fight-back; I guess the players had just run out of energy - leaving them in no state to face Bournemouth.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
