Post Match report for the Fulham game - Tuesday, 29th January 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE; Fulham v Brighton

ALBION NOT VERY COSY UP AT THE COTTAGE


VENUE; Craven Cottage, Fulham - thirteenth away match of 24 fixtures.
RESULT; 4-2 ~ Murray 2 . (h-t 0-2) . SHAPE; 4-5-1 . REF; did what he had to do on a wet night.

PROLOGUE; it was a midweek night at end of January, in a consecutive month nearly as busy as December.
Form on the road was nothing to write home about during 2018 but had improved slightly of late. The trouble though was that this visit was another away Prem football match and anything untoward might happen.
GATE; 20,008 . WEATHER; cold & wet with sleet & snow.


CHRIS HUGHTON reverted to first team regulars following a disappointing display by the second eleven in the FA Cup at the Amex on Saturday. So bulk of that bench now started and vice versa for substitutes.
Ryan returned from very much warmer climes to resume between posts. Jahanbakhsh also had an inbound international flight departure booked.

TEAM; . . . . . . . . . 1 Ryan
. 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong
. 20 March, 6 Stephens, 13 Gross, 24 Propper, 9 Locadia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Murray

BENCH; 27 Button, 2 Bruno, 33 Burn, 7 Kayal, 8 Bissouma, 11 Knockaert (71), 10 Andone (77).


GOALS; 3 - 0-1. Direct football from Seagulls from kickoff saw March making tracks forward. Interplay into the final third gave MURRAY a quick opportunity and he made no mistake.
17 - 0-2. March made a run up field with midfield in support. Gross was acrobatic and MURRAY seized on the chance with a flick volley.
47 - 1-2. Locals were off the blocks with alacrity while visitors got caught cold at the back defending a set piece.
58 - 2-2. Travellers seemed unable to repel raiders and surrendered the lead in panic mode when pressed in the area.
74 - 3-2. A routine cross put into the danger zone is converted as defenders appear too weak.
79 - 4-2. Pathetic defending is punished and hapless BHA are being thrashed. Central defence & keeper exposed as poor.

INCIDENTS; 35 - Montoya was decked via a robust challenge but REF appeared lenient in conditions. 38 - Duffy clears off the line when locals registering one looked imminent. 43 - Propper unleashed a fierce drive that rattled the crossbar.

YELLOWS; 26 - Stephens was fortunate to escape wrath of Ref with dangerous high sticks. 36 - Duffy presumably said something untoward. 75 - Dunk enters the book on a tough evening in rearguard.

SUBS; 71 - Locadia is hooked for Knockaert. 77 - Gross is withdrawn for Andone.


ANALYSIS; a very early goal set the agenda, which became more transparent shortly afterwards. Hosts soon changed personnel, shape and tactics in attempt to salvage something on a slick pitch. However play up to the interval, during inclement conditions, saw status quo maintained.
But the clean sheet disappeared way too easily within moments of turnaround from revitalised opposition. And guess what, mistakes at the back in a crowded area gifted the home unit a soft equaliser.
After that, Cottagers, egged on by home support, went for the win as Seagulls flapped and went very deep. Predictably the away side showed why they cannot take points on the road as once put under pressure the performance fell apart across the pitch.
Lack of game management, overall awareness and tactical ability turned the match into reactive rather than proactive.
***The side let Brighton fans down and owe everyone who travelled this evening a sincere apology.***

NUMBERS; shape 442-451, poss 63%-37%, on target 7-6, off target 17-8, corners 10-1, fouls 10-5, yellows 2-3, subs 3-2. MoM - Murray.

FS

END OF JANUARY TABLE: bottom half.
Po . Pl . -GD . Pt
11 . 24 . -07 . 31 West Ham
12 . 23 . -09 . 30 Bournemouth
13 . 24 . -09 . 26 Brighton
14 . 24 . -11 . 24 Newcastle
15 . 24 . -20 . 23 Burnley
16 . 23 . -09 . 22 Palace
17 . 23 . -15 . 22 Southampton
18 . 24 . -26 . 19 Cardiff
19 . 24 . -28 . 17 Fulham
20 . 24 . -28 . 11 Huddersfield