Fulham 3-1 Bournemouth
After a series of recent disappointments, last Saturday's home match at Craven Cottage provided Fulham fans with an afternoon of joy – with the bonus of a beautiful riverside sky on the way home. There was even a rainbow.
We had an early indication that things would turn out well. Bournemouth midfielder Lewis Cook slipped as he tried to intercept a low centre and allowed Bobby Decordova-Reid to flick the ball home, giving the Whites a sixth minute lead.
The weekend's damp conditions must have contributed but the goal resulted from the spirited foraging of Rodrigo Muniz. The Brazilian has always worked hard for the team without fully convincing me that he was ready to lead the line. Where were the goals? But he finally broke his duck at Burnley, and his performance against Bournemouth changed my perception and won him plenty of admirers, including Alan Shearer on BBC's Match of the Day.
Tim Ream and Andreas Pereira also deserved credit for intercepting the ball in the first place and prompting the successful attack.
Evenly matched tie
Bournemouth responded briskly, and an exciting contest ensued between two evenly matched sides. Willian and Tom Cairney were in scintillating form and Fulham enjoyed two further advantages: the visitors' many attempts on goal proved wayward, and the referee Tim Robinson tolerated some vigorous challenges (a boon to Joao Palhinha).
I recently criticised Mr Robinson for ignoring Chelsea's timewasting, but his leniency worked well for both teams this time.
Some 10 minutes before the interval Willian's teasing cross was headed down by DeCordova-Reid. Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto was beaten to the ball by Muniz, who gleefully doubled his tally for the season.
Bournemouth stepped up a gear in the second half but remained wasteful until Dominic Solanke created a goal for Marcos Senesi, a brilliant shot on the turn.
This unnerved the home supporters, who remembered how a two-goal lead had been frittered away the previous week, so full credit to Cairney and Willian for swiftly restoring the margin.
Willian's cunning cross was thumped into the net by the renascent Muniz. Fulham in-house commentators Jim McGullion and Jamie Reid thought we were seeing another Allan Clarke or Gordon Davies (both Craven Cottage legends, for younger readers). That would be marvellous, but perhaps we should wait till he reaches double figures at least. Let him bask in his new title the 'Putney Pele'.
The visitors did not surrender. But a Solanke overhead kick flew just too high, and they could not change the score.
This victory moved Fulham into mid-table, overtaking Bournemouth. The outlook is brighter now. Harry Wilson's injury was not as bad as feared and Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey will soon be reappearing after representing Nigeria at AFCON (it is just a pity that they could not quite carry off the prize).
Face from the past
On the subject of losing finalists, it is nearly four decades since Fulham were in the FA Cup Final – losing 2-0 to West Ham United in 1975.
John Cutbush, who played at right-back in that game, returned to the Cottage last Saturday for a half-time presentation. I remember my aunt asking him for his autograph at the club's open day and his smiling reply of "You fool," because like most of his teammates he felt embarrassed by the Cup Final underperformance.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
