Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Fulham
A victory at Molineux last Saturday would have brought Fulham level with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League – but the result did not go their way.
Whites boss Marco Silva retained the starting line-up from the Manchester United and Brighton triumphs. This meant that Joao Palhinha, returning from suspension, had to sit with the other substitutes including Adama Traore, who must have been itching to play on that familiar turf.
Assisted by Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi, Andreas Pereira was soon in action testing Wolves keeper Jose Sa, but then the game paused while Jean-Riner Bellegarde received treatment for an injury that ended his participation.
On the resumption, the Whites continued to show confidence from their recent victories. In one classic move, Sasa Lukic and Iwobi sent Wilson clear, only for the Welshman to shoot wide. Shortly afterwards Tosin hit the bar. Both incidents should have resulted in goals.
Just before the interval Pedro Neto pulled a hamstring, to the dismay of Wolves coach Gary O' Neil, who had taken a risk in including him. Neto's misfortunate actually worked in his club's favour, as in the second half the reorganised team caught the visitors on the hop.
One can argue with referee Tony Harrington's decision to penalise Harrison Reed for a 59th minute tackle. That could not excuse the Whites' casual defence against the free kick. Calvin Bassey clumsily passed the ball to the unmarked Rayan Ait-Nour, who propelled it into the net.
"We were punished," said Marco Silva after the game, "by the lack of concentration and focus."
He sent on Willian and Tom Cairney to liven up the team, followed by Palhinha and Traore, both of whom were thwarted by Jose Sa. Rodrigo Muniz looked certain to score but Max Kilman somehow got the ball clear.
Visiting fans grew anxious and, sure enough, Wolves went further ahead with a goal that was more than a little fortunate. Nathan Fraser, just onside, sent over a cross that was blocked. Joao Gomes intervened and passed to Nelson Semedo, whose shot struck Cairney and skewed into the net.
In all Fulham had seven shots on target, but the only one that counted came too late. Alex Iwobi's close-range effort in the 98th minute brought little comfort, even if it was apparently the club's first Premier League goal at Molineux since the days of Andy Johnson.
The fans named the Nigerian as Man of the Match. Interestingly Armando Broja came fourth in the poll even though he did not take the field until the 80th minute. I don't believe that this was ironic as Wolves supporters also praised him on social media.
Maybe he will get more playing time in Saturday evening's home match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
