West Ham United 3-2 Fulham
Fulham 4-1 Watford
Fulham's commendable unbeaten run finally ended on Tuesday evening and unfortunately the defeat occurred at the London Stadium where last April Marco Silva's men triumphed 2-0 with a brace from Andras Pereira.
The latest meeting between the clubs had started so promisingly with the Whites in control and Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez close to scoring. But the possession game, which did not pay off against Ipswich, allowed the Hammers time to grow in confidence.
From a free kick Maximilian Kilman seemed to have put the home side ahead but VAR (eventually) confirmed the officials' verdict of offside.
Instead of heeding the warning Fulham indulged in some sloppy defensive play that concluded with Pereira teeing up Carlo Soler for the opener. Still recovering from the shock Fulham conceded again when four incisive passes within the box gave Tomas Soucek an easy goal. The lead held until the interval.
Alex Iwobi, who had striven so hard for his teammates in the first half, scored a remarkable goal early in the second. It looked as if Jimenez had added the slightest tap to the Nigerian's looping centre but neither the striker nor keeper Lukasz Fabianski touched the ball before it crossed the line.
Fulham had a further chance when awarded a free kick near the Hammers' goal but almost inevitably Pereira failed to clear the defensive wall. Meanwhile away fans had the ominous sight of Danny Ings preparing to enter the match.
Four minutes after replacing Mohammed Kudus Ings spotted Bernd Leno dallying with the ball and easily dispossessed him, allowing Lucas Paqueta an open goal.
Silva responded immediately by replacing Pereira and Emile Smith Rowe with Tom Cairney and Adama Traore but it was Iwobi who wrongfooted Fabianski again to make the score 3-2.
Late substitute Josh King presented Traore with the golden chance for an equaliser in added time but the Spaniard could not manage a shot on target. Slackness and inaccuracy cost Fulham dear.
Chilly FA Cup tie at the Cottage
At least we are still in the FA Cup. A freezing cold Thursday evening was scarcely ideal for a Third Round tie but the hardy spectators watching in person witnessed an entertaining and satisfying match.
Against Championship Watford, Marco Silva promoted Steven Benda, Jorge Cuenca and Ryan Sessegnon. It was a rare appearance by Ryan who went on to secure the fans' Man of the Match vote.
The home team dominated the early stages with the exciting combination of Sessegnon and Iwobi, the latter drawing an excellent save from Jonathan Bond. In the 26th minute Adama Traore's cross was stylishly converged by Rodrigo Muniz only for Rocco Vota to equalise from 25 yards after bamboozling Sasa Lukic.
Muniz retired with a back injury during the interval and Raul Jimenez replaced him, just in time to score yet another spot kick, this one awarded for Antonio Tikvic's unwise foul on Traore. Victory was sealed with goals from Joachim Andersen and Timothy Castagne, two players who have experienced mixed fortunes this season.
Next stop Wigan.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
