Fulham vs Wolves - Friday 24th February 2023
Delightedly off I trundled over Putney Bridge for the 3rd time in two months heading to Craven Cottage to see how Fulham would get on.
Fulham were on the back of some tremendous form, being only behind Manchester United in results since the New Year. So although with the news that Mitrovic was not yet recovered from injury, a last minute call apparently, there was still great optimism in the large crowds waiting to get through the very busy turnstiles.
First half : 25 mins
I was very interested to see how the firecracker of a left back, Robinson, was going to fare, after some scintillating appearances full of pace in recent games. From the off he was looking positive with his defensive work as Wolves and Jiminez came out of the traps quickly. Wolves were trying a number of diagonals, and both Tete and Robinson had to be sharp in the opening couple minutes.
The game then turned very scrappy for the next 10 mins which was mostly in the middle 1/3, with Fulham being more to blame for misplaced and careless passing. This was epitomised with a poor Robinson pass back which allowed Wolves to get into the Fulham box, but without an end product. This danger seemed to wake Fulham up a little, and passing became crisper and more confident.
Both teams were struggling to produce quality in the final 1/3, but Ream and Diop at the back were managing to deal with the rare Wolves crosses of quality.
At this stage there were a few key observations that I thought were at the root of Fulham not being at their best:
First and second balls in midfield were routinely being lost
Vinicius was very deep which was leaving no one in the box when there was any break down the sides for crosses
Robinson and Willian were not using their pace down the left and using overlaps or even trying to beat a man, but just slowing up and passing inside
Although Wolves were having the better marginally of the first half, as it progressed Robinson was trying to push up a littler higher, and on the other side De Cordova-Reid was starting to get into the game after some early dodgy crossing. A good example was his clever cushioned header as a through ball down the right touchline and then got into the box to get the ball back, and forcing a corner.
Palhinha got booked with the first of only two yellow cards in the game which was the start of the Fulham crowd getting very frustrated with the referee Michael Oliver, as they saw inequality in decision making as the game progressed. In this instance, the tackle was from behind, he may have got the ball, but the Wolves player decided to fall to the ground extremely late after the tackle, rolled around for ages, then after the card, got up and ran off like there was nothing wrong with his ankle.
Wolves had a freekick in a good central spot after some further joy down their right channel (and a cut in ball) which was being favoured by Wolves through the half. But luckily for Fulham the quality in front of goal was still lacking with the freekick going straight into the hands of Leno.
What many would find obvious is that Vinicius is no Mitrovic, but the lack of the talismanic striker was being very keenly felt as it was proven over and over again Vinicius is not a reliable hold-uper of the ball and as such more and more out balls were heading to the diminutive Willian, who of course was struggling to win these high ball headers!
Sarabia’s goal came on 23 mins and really summed up Fulham in this opening period: the ball was turned over and then Fulham did not close the man down afterward. Sarabia had all the time in the world to steady himself in the box and Fulham were 0-1 down.
In is opening period of the game, the Fulham central midfield were absent and there was not enough up front, epitomised when Vinicius was going down the left wing (why was he there and not in the No.9 space???) and crossed into the Wolves box with not a single Fulham shirt anywhere near the centre of the box.
25-45 mins
Willian was still spending more time trying to win headers than being creative around the Wolves box, and when a good cross did come in on the half hour mark, it was aimed at him, not Vinicius! The fact Vinicius was nowhere to be found around the 6 yard box for a number of crosses around this time had me wanting him to be subbed come half time. It is very clear that he is not a No.9.
I am not sure if it was just me, but the Wolves away kit was very difficult to spot when their players were hugging the lines against the dark coats of the crowd and black advertising boards. Either way, Wolves continued to target the full backs down the flanks, with now an increased focus on their left channel, and pinning in Tete.
It was increasingly frustrating to me that Fulham were not gambling with Wolves’ high line and putting balls over and behind the back line for Willian, De Cordova-Reid and Robinson to use their pace to get in behind Wolves.
But Fulham did manage to pose more of a threat in the back end of the first half down their right side, with De Cordova-Reid and Tete combining well with resulting crosses and shots, but all to no avail for a goal.
With the last kick of the half, Periera had a central freekick about 30 yards out. Although it forced a tip over from Sa in the middle of the Wolves goal from a dipping shot, there was no time for Fulham to take the resulting corner.
Verdict of the first half: Wolves deserved their 0-1 lead.
Tactics watch
Interestingly in the first half, with some faffing around time, both teams CB’s got tactical chats in, but only Wolves involved their keep in those chats. The tactical differences were on show again at half time when all the Wolves subs were out for the full 15 mins warming up and practising with the ball (much to the annoyance of the Fulham groundskeepers ambling around with their pitchforks!)
Manor Solomon has now score in 3 successive games for Fulham, each time from the bench.
2nd half : 45-65 mins
So I was chatting around me at half time and voicing my opinion that Vinicius should be pulled off during the break, and super sub Solomon should take his place. Solomon has been on cracking form with a goal in each of the last two games, with a combined game time of about 12 minutes! Much to my delight Solomon ran out with the Fulham team for the second half, also with Lukic. But it was oddly De Cordova-Reid that made way, along with Harrison Reed (the midfield had been dominated in the first half).
Willian was shifted over to the right and Solomon took over that left hand channel. I chuckled as during much of his time at Chelsea, Willian was used as a super-sub and I always clamoured for him to start more. Now Solomon coming on (and taking Willian’s wing) is getting much of the same response from me. And it was Solomon that sparked Fulham into life at the start of the second half.
Lukic was also making his mark early on in the second half, winning back balls and driving directly at the Wolves back line. Solomon was instantly more daring than Willian in the first half and was already terrorising down the left channel, looking to take on Sarabia and Semedo.
Although there was more Fulham energy and spark, the sloppy balls around the Fulham midfield and back line were not all eradicated and it took the constant theme of the game to make sure Fulham were not 0-2 from some improved crossing for Wolves: Ream coming to the rescue. If Ream were to get injured, Fulham would be in serious trouble at the back, it is no wonder that whenever he makes a clearance, his name reverberates around The Cottage from the adoring and grateful fans. There are for sure parallels of cult hero status with Silva and the Stamford Bridge fans.
But for all my delight at Solomon coming on in an attacking capacity, he excelled himself in defence in one of these sticky situations with the ball being given away and he found himself tracking back and battling no less than 3 Wolves players up against the by line around the Fulham box, and come away with a goal kick.
This little passage of Wolves dominance resulted in Jimenez flashing a good headed chance just wide of the left post, and this gave Fulham the wake up again, like we had seen right at the start of the half.
With Fulham now with the bit between their teeth and starting to get the ascendancy, two Wolves players went down under successive, valid and not overly beefy challenges by Fulham players just inside the Wolves half. As neither were head injuries, Fulham continued to play on, supported rightly by the referee, but to the increasing annoyance of the Wolves players. This was drawing the irritation of the Fulham fans, who were urging their team to press the advantage. Fulham tried, but nothing came of it. It then all sparked off as Wolves eventually managed to get the ball and hoofed it out of play. Wolves players were outraged that play had not been stopped. The Fulham fans, already with their backs up on what was seen as Wolves increasingly trying to time waste with their lead intact, were in full voice of condemnation. This was about 6-8 minutes of the game being stopped as Cunha was still down with what looked like a bad ankle injury. It did not help when he eventually was pulled up by his two medical staff and tried to get to the touchline, but then just crumbled back onto the ground out flat. Fulham fans were outraged. Now what follows can be taken two ways; Cunha was stretched off (nearly 2/3 the length of the pitch as the only way out is via the corner of the pitch to those that know the very quaint and traditional ground) but the Fulham fans still, in main, all booed him off. Not overall great. Time will tell how bad the injury is, but I question why the two Wolves medics were trying to get him to walk off with them if his ankle was that bad….something did not add up.
Anyway, all this did was fire up the fans more, and this translated into the Fulham team. Solomon was causing chaos down the left flank (left was the flavour from Fulham in the second half, rather than right in the first half). Then the breakthrough came!
Fulham won the ball back high into Wolves territory in the middle of the pitch with two successive press and wins, and then recycled the ball again quickly down the left side. Solomon again ran at Semedo, but this time cut inside, drifted to the edge of the box and curled a peach of a shot across Sa into the far bottom corner of the goal. 1-1
65-90 mins
Wolves did not decide to try and hold on to a draw and tried to come back out. Fulham took them seriously, with all 11 players back for a couple of Wolves corners. But on one of them, I could see Dawson lurking inside from the D and just getting unmarked around the penalty spot. I was shouting out, and low and behold he jumps up, still unmarked, and gets a great header on the ball but luckily the ball was tipped over the bar for another corner.
Fulham survived and again found another gear, continually pressing Wolves down the left, with Pereira this time flashing a shot over the bar.
Traore had come on for Cunha, but Robinson was dealing with his strength and pace very comfortably. Robinson can match him for his blinding pace, but is about half his weight, so a good showing from the left back. The fact Traore was absent from the game for the 38 minutes he was on is a great testament to the ability of Robinson.
Wolves started to get nervy either side of their double substitution at the 76th minute, with passes flying high out into touch on both sides. Sarabia and Nunes came off with Pondence and Moutinho coming on, which was a sign that Fulham had eventually started to get some dominance in midfield.
Further frustration with Vinicius was shown by all fans when Fulham won a quick turnover in that improving midfield. He broke into the box well then just slowed down, made no decision and just slowly ended up at the by line and luckily bundled a corner, but again showing he is nowhere near the levels of Mitrovic, who is a real miss as that focal point for the attack.
Fulham’s dominance continued as the half reached the latter stages, but Wolves were not giving up and it turned more open and end-to-end. Fulham’s sustained pressure in pockets was not getting the winning goal. A wild bicycle kick from Pereira was all air, and no solid shots were being put in on the Wolves goal.
It seems Ream was the only one with the same level of urgency ushered by the Fulham fans sensing a second goal was possible. He was gesturing to the team for a much quicker ball, and the ball was being given to him repeatedly like a quarterback, firing the ball forward more quickly.
Wilson was brought on for Willian at the 83rd minute. Willian has been class for Fulham this season, but this was not his best game. Not his fault as far as I see it, he was having to do Vinicius’ job too much of the time, which unsurprisingly took a huge amount out of him.
Wilson was instantly finding lots of space out on the right, hugging the line, with Wolves focusing on trying to nullify Solomon on the left. On the third attempt, a large raking diagonal ball did make it over to Wilson, but the resulting cross missed everyone’s head in the middle.
On one of the breaks for Wolves, they called Leno into action from range. Lucky for him, there were no Wolves players following up in the 6 yard box when he spilled a routine collection.
8 minutes of stoppage time was greeted with a huge roar from the Fulham fans, but both had chances in stoppage time.
A rare misjudgement of a floated cross by Robinson over his head allowed for a whipped cross which of course required the heroics of ‘Ream to the Rescue’ again.
It was Fulham’s turn and again down the right with Wilson resulting in a great ball in with a fingertip save being drawn from a header about to creep inside the post of Sa’s goal.
More end to end followed but without further chances. It did still need Ream closing down Wolves breaks against the Fulham onslaught, with both teams looking to grab 3 points. But time ran out and the points were shared.
Verdict of the second half: Fulham on top and deserving of the equaliser
Verdict of the match: probably a fair result over the two halves, Wolves would have felt hard done by to come away with nothing, as would Fulham.
Fulham takeaways:
A decent quality backup is needed for Mitrovic in the No.9 role
Diop played very well too, but Ream needs to stay fit for Fulham to challenge for Europe
Robinson needs to be freed up to use his pace and be told to gamble and take on players
Solomon needs to start
Use the pace in the team with balls behind if the opposition is playing a high line
Did you see the game, what were your insights?
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