What a relief… a Fulham win finally enters our lives this league season with a 1-0 win over Hull City that was as dominant as it was nerve-wreaking. In a game with a dozen solid opportunities for our team, it was fitting that the one we managed to score was a deflected shot from Iwobi following a scrappy set of touches from Hull’s scrambled defence. What should have been a commanding victory felt perilously close to being a familiar tale of collapse as the game ticked on, with a glut of chances failing to be converted and a late Sessegnon red card putting a dampener on things, but it matters not - for at least tonight, Alvaro Arbeloa can be proud of a Premier League victory with the club.
First Half
The second of our must-win matches against the newly-promoted sides offered an unequivocal chance to make our first statement performance of the season, one to dispel some of the negative energy hovering around the club. Hull City won their first two games but hadn’t found victory since, and with their team starting in an overly defensive 5-4-1 Fulham wasted little time springing into action. Josh King made it clear he would be running the show early on, taking two Hull players with him along the left on an early foray forward and freeing up Iwobi in the process, letting the winger curl a shot that deflected narrowly over. It earnt the first of many corners, which sadly didn’t strike the chords to trouble a packed Hull box.
There were healthy signs around the pitch. Berge and Charles settled into a comfortable rhythm in midfield, playing around Crooks and Slater quite easily and cruising into Hull territory without too much concern. Bobb had a touch of confidence to his play along the right, working hard to take strides out of Norton-Cuffy. Iwobi moved fluidly around midfield, trying to earn more width through the wingplay of Robinson. Paramount though was King, the diamond at the centre of the team, taking the ball and earning territory with each step, linking with teammates to unpiece the fortified goal. Not for the first time, however, our fortune seemed to desert us in the box itself, as the familiar failings with the ball in the critical moments tallied throughout the half.
Hull’s wastefulness on the ball allowed us to generate consistent chances. Fabulous build-up play started by Berge and Charles and worked to Bobb through King slotting it between the defence expertly was blocked by Herrington. A free-kick won by King on the right was headed away easily by Egan. A ball slipped through by King to Garcia saw the Spaniard bolstered off the ball by Ajayi and the corner come to nothing. An outstanding move stretching from Leno’s goal all the way to Bobb and King, the former feeding the latter and letting him daze the defence before Herrington took a yellow to fell our No 24… only for the free-kick, in a dangerous position, to be curled by Bobb straight into Tzolakis’ hands. Repetition, thy name is Fulham… we found ourselves watching our efforts fail to budge the zero on the scoresheet, and an ugly narrative potentially coming to fruition again.
Thankfully, Hull seemed largely apathetic to the terrain of the game. They’d offered precious little, the scant run of a Coyle or Belloumi along the right the greatest hair-raiser they’d managed thus far. Bassey and Robinson used their pace nicely to neutralise the threat posed, and sensible play around the defence meant we were quickly able to return pressure upon the Hull defence. It’s a dangerous thing to expect an overly defensive set-up to withstand an entire afternoon of Fulham blowing their lines, and with free-kicks, set-pieces and yellow cards accumulating, the pressure made itself count after the 30 minute mark, with Iwobi’s first goal of the campaign. It was a fortuitous strike, admittedly - Berge reached the box but couldn’t reach King with his pass along the right, Norton-Cuffy scuffed a clearance into danger, Slater’s touch kept it from Bobb but gave it back to the Norwegian now within the area, the lay-off that followed gave Iwobi the ball in striking position and he duly curled it goalwards, the shot bouncing off Herrington and travelling awkwardly under Tzolakis’ dive.
Few cared, though - we had the lead! Immediately the mood improved - whilst the obvious problem of actually seeing out the victory would need to be accomplished, it was clear what a psychological boost actually having the advantage again would pose for the team, Fulham winning the ball quickly and earning a corner through Egan rushedly smacking an Iwobi cross back into the stands. The short routine led to Bassey narrowly heading over Iwobi’s ball in, the closest of our plethora of corner kicks. We might have come closer from open play - after more threats from Bobb were warded away, King collected the ball from Affengruber and laced a delightful diagonal pass through the lines, falling right into the path of Garcia to stride through on goal… but the touch was horrible, and it spun comfortably for the keeper. Undeterred, our maestro took Tzolakis on himself, combining well with Berge and Bobb to move along the right and drill an effort from an acute angle, forcing the keeper to save with his legs. It was a solid end to the half, and a strong showing from Fulham on the whole.
Second Half
Of course, what was screaming at every Fulham fan was the eerily familiar situation we found ourselves in. We’d led three different league games so far this season and failed to win any of them, suffering this fate as recently as last weekend - a second goal was absolutely necessary to defeat the mental challenges haranguing the team and take away the chance for a second-best Hull to steal back the points. Jakirovic had introduced Iroegbunam for the booked Herrington at the break, unshackling themselves from the back-five and offering more fight to a Fulham team largely dictating the game. They had their first real attacks from the game, McBurnie trying to resurrect his own sullen performance by putting himself more prominently amongst our centre-backs, but he was out of sync with his teammates and couldn’t make things click.
Conversely, Fulham continued to sniff danger. A sloppy pass from Ajayi was intercepted and built upon by Charles, surging from midfield and playing a series of passes with King to navigate Hull’s defence, King ending the move disappointingly with a shot too close to Tzolakis to score with. From this, Bassey tried to rally the team, using his runs from deep to propel the team into action. The build-up play was good, Garcia and Castagne and of course the effervescent King all getting involved with deft passes, and though we would need patience to find the time for a shot Hull were very much the team on the back-foot, forced to retro-fit their new set-up back into an overtly defensive strategem. This suited us - the space Iroegbunam was supposed to target was still heavily Fulham’s, and it let our midfield play killer passes, like for a move that saw Berge whip a ball into King, King turn Ajayi breathlessly and lift play into Garcia, who headed down for Iwobi, directly in front of the goal… but unable to guide an effort difficult enough to trouble Tzolakis, again gifted an easy block.
It was a dominant period, but a nervy one, because each minute of Fulham consolidating possession and accumulating chances without actually scoring increased the potential devastation of a late concession. Charles motored around productively, King continued trying to eke magic from the tightest of spaces and Hull still offered precious little, a rare mistake by Iwobi not capitalised on at all by McBurnie as our defence held firm. Their changes started showing a little more intent - Vaz and Gelhardt gave the visitors some much needed life and energy in attack, whilst Giles swapped with Norton-Cuffy to try and dampen the combinations we’d enjoyed along the right. Suddenly a few more Hull bodies prowled our half, and that fear of reprisal continued to grow.
Still, the ball refused to enter the goal. Robinson burst along the left, and after being partially stopped by Coyle let King take over, skilfully threading the ball across the box to Bobb - substitute Giles was astute to the danger and stopped the Norwegian tapping the ball past a stunned keeper. The corner routine led to a length spell on the ball that Fulham used nicely, Iwobi taking some delightful touches on the left and combining with a hobbling Castagne before lifting the ball towards goal with his right foot, where Gonzalo Garcia escaped Ajayi to meet the cross unopposed a few yards from goal… surely the time to kickstart his Fulham career and send the Cottage into raptures with the second strike of the afternoon… but his effort was met with the cold thud of the crossbar, and Hull repelled the rebound. A cruel reminder of the difference between a confident striker and ours.
After Robinson’s crossing radar failed to reach Garcia, and Bobb painfully volleyed over on the rebound, Arbeloa made his own changes - the welcome return of Tom Cairney, who arrived to calm the nerves of an understandably frantic Fulham, and Ryan Sessegnon, on to run the hard yards and stop Hull snatching something at the depth. It was a sensible pair of changes, and the first the manager has made correctly in some time - with Hull trying to make a few moves of their own, only needing a single one to end positively to salvage a draw, we had a midfielder capable of slowing the game down and dictating play with intelligent touches and measured passes. As Sess swiped the ball away from Gelhardt in a move perilously close to gifting Hull a penalty, Cairney showcased his worth to the team, a fine wine - taking the ball forward and eating minutes out of Hull’s potential last gasp heroics. With Berge and Charles both still on the pitch he didn’t have the pressure to morph into some destroyer - indeed, his vision combined with their physicality let us etch out some late chances, Charles driving the team into the box and Berge and Garcia combining with pleasant touches around the penalty spot. Palacios, the final change for Fulham, had a chance to combine with the captain as well, receiving a flick-on and taking the ball into attack with some smart footwork - Cairney’s eventual effort proved too close to the keeper again.
It was critical, because Hull’s last few moments in ascendency reminded us of what could have happened in this game. As often happens with the nerves raised Fulham started making a few mistakes, substitute Morita charging about in search of the ball and winning it, needing Bassey and Robinson to neutralise an attack along Hull’s right, and the pace of Vaz saw Affengruber punished for a physical challenge in a decent position for a set-piece - Belloumi choosing to smack an effort into the stands was a welcome let-off. Most worryingly was in the final moments - Sess did brilliantly to nullify a Giles throw-in, using his pace to bound up the wing and take the game to its conclusion. Vaz caught the winger up, dispossessing him - Sess, in turn, felled the forward to waste a little more time. His challenge was a reckless one however, raking the back of Vaz’s foot, and earnt him a straight red card. Yet another chance for Hull to sucker-punch us was presented… thankfully the delay did not disturb our focus, and Robinson cleared the free kick from Tzolakis superbly to induce the referee’s whistle, and finally, finally earn Fulham three points.
Winners, at last
The heady heights of lower mid-table have never felt so good! There was a roar of exhilaration at the Cottage and beyond - Fulham absolutely could not afford less than a win today and the simple fact of achieving one should lift everyone at the club. Alvaro Arbeloa is not a man out of the spotlight yet, of course - 5 points from 7 is hardly anything to sing from the rooftops about - but Fulham have taken the critical first step, and that should be meriting of some praise for everyone involved. It could have been a lot worse!
It’s an unquestionable truth that Fulham should have scored at least two or three more than they did, and for as much as Arbeloa deserves criticism the finishing from the team was fundamentally flawed again today. Iwobi’s strike alone was lucky to find the net! Muniz will be watching on the sidelines and wondering when his chance will come - Garcia wasted perhaps the best chance he’ll have to win over the Fulham fanbase with the header onto the crossbar today, couldn’t make anything of a hatful of beautiful passes King and co served him up and for all the positivity of his runs and movement is fundamentally failing at the one task he is predominantly in the team for. Few teams will give us as many chances as Hull did, and even fewer will fail to score altogether - we can’t afford a striker missing them every match.
His teammates weren’t much more accurate, but crucially their performances were sensational around it. King is the obvious star, whose valuation must surge with each game - on and off the ball his work is exceptional, critical to our best moves, and it is remarkable how important he has become everywhere in the attacking half. Bobb really enjoys playing with him, and once their confidence in front of goal can be harnessed the two will combine for a bucket-full of goals. I adored seeing Iwobi glide in and out of action, pulling the strings from deep and the left wing, and his harmony suited Robinson, looking closer to the man we used to see regularly, and Charles, who had some-rocket powered moments down the left to enjoy. Berge, once again, looked more comfortable stepping forward with a healthier team around him, and can be pleased with an assist for his efforts today.
Defensively you’ll rarely have an easier time in the Premier League. I don’t recall Leno making a single save, meaning he prized a cheap clean sheet, but that isn’t to say the defensive interventions weren’t occurring - over the course of the game the work committed in front of the goal, particularly by Bassey and Robinson, helped deter serious trouble from ever reaching the German’s area. Cairney also demonstrated what a correct substitution from the bench looks like - you didn’t see Hull’s considerably large team bullying the captain, you saw a seasoned veteran of the game pulling the strings and making Hull work for the ball with time ticking away. Perhaps Hull being so sterile made things look cushier than they actually are for us, and certainly the tougher tests lie on the horizon, but after so many weeks of disappointment the players should be willing to celebrate a cleansheet, a win and a lift up the table that’s both psychological and mathematical. It’s hard not to be pleased with that, at least.
Hell of a time for Hull
A few words on Hull? Seven games isn’t completely enough to offer a full picture, but it’s also a bit beyond the opening weeks of the season, and it’s quite clear Hull will need to come up with a little more to keep themselves afloat as the calendar drags on. The early wins were good, but the quality of the league is strong, and there will be several teams reviewing this game and eyeing them up as a side to propel themselves past. I don’t think you can have many more games with as pitiful attacking returns as Hull did today without inviting scrutiny - whilst it’s clear the team have earnt some justified plaudits for making a positive start, it can sometimes make the actual precarity of a first campaign in the division slip under the radar, and the deeply vacuous performances from across the XI can’t be allowed to set-in.
Great as our win was, it’s not unfair to attribute much of it to Hull’s mediocrity - McBurnie barely touched the ball, the midfield could hardly string a pass together, there was chaos on the flanks trying to deal with our wingers and though the centre-backs all put a bit of graft in the general carelessness of Ajayi and Herrington (before being withdrawn) meant Egan was covering holes everywhere, to say nothing of the keeper. It was an ugly watch - the efforts of those on the bench will be needed in the coming weeks.
Who is fussed though - Fulham have a win, and little else matters tonight! Refine our shooting boots, carry today’s attacking positivity into next week and stay sharp for Coventry, and there is no reason the season can’t start to take on a healthier colour. Arbeloa lives on - one only hopes he is learning from these unprecedented times.
Still bizarre substitution practice. Muniz should have had 15 or 20 mins. Palacios on against a big rough team???