Fulham 1-2 West Ham

By: Ted | September 29th, 2008

Basically a nothing match that if either team could have won by the odd goal, but in the end we got the rub of the green to take all three points and stay near the top of the table. The first half was pretty much all Fulham, but three minutes near the end of that period gifted us the victory. First, Etherington made a terrific run down the right wing and played a ball across goal that quite frankly Schwarzer made a hash of, palming it out to Cole who scored a tap in to put his midweek misdemenour behind him. Soon after that, Schwarzer made another mistake, rushing out to get a ball he never would that Etherington simply prodded into the goal. Right after that, Fulham’s Andrew Johnson received his marching orders after a second yellow from a tackle on Neill that sent his boot flying. Two nil up against ten men going into half-time and we looked comfortable having weathered the Fulham storm in the first half. The first half was more even with us creating the better chances. Ilunga and Bellamy in particular having good opportunities to put the result beyond doubt. Fulham did get one back from the penalty spot, but we held out to pick up successive league wins for the first time in a year. My star men were:

Ilunga: The departure of McCartney was the reason Curbishley cited for his departure, as it left the squad without a recognised left back. When Ilunga came in, my reaction was: who? However, I was assured by a follower of the French league that this guy is the real deal and he is starting to show it. He’s tough, he likes to get forward, and today showed that he has a mean shot too. I hope he keeps it up.

Etherington: Again one of our best attacking players. Makes the cut for the third game in a row simply due to his direct running and the obvious contribution of a goal and an assist. It’s funny that for years in a claret and blue shirt I never saw him anywhere but on the left wing, whereas today he was all over the place getting an assist from the right wing. His less predictable movement has really added to his game.

Noble: A hard worker that can run all day, but he needs to do more than graft to to become a top performer. Today he started to show some real class, playing some nice passes around including an assist for Etherington’s goal. If he can play like this, and add goals to his game, then the sky’s the limit. My man of the match.