Fulham rocked Portsmouth with a three-goal salvo to banish the memories of defeat in the Midlands three weeks ago. Goals from Wayne Brown (2) and one from Lino Goncalves capped an all round, impressive display from Fulham.
Both sides fielded strong teams with players in both squads having numerous Premier League appearances to their name. For Fulham, Moritz Volz, Seol Ki-Hyeon and Alexey Smertin were the notable inclusions, while Pompey fielded summer signing David Nugent, as well as the experienced Matthew Taylor and Champions League winner, Djimi Traore.
To compliment the First Team players, Billy McKinlay once again opted for a mixture of youth and experienced Development Squad players. In goal Ricardo Batista; as well as Volz, the defence was made up of recent debutants, Nathan Ashton and Elliot Omozusi, also Australian centre back Adrian Leijer. In midfield Rob Milsom and Wayne Brown; the attacking threat came from Ismael Ehui and Bradley Hudson-Odoi, with two goals in his last two Development Squad games.
Before either side had even had a chance to settle into the game Fulham were a goal to the good in spectacular fashion. Incisive running from Bradley Hudson-Odoi down the right led to a pass outside to Volz who had overlapped the midfielder. The German stopped and passed a clever ball across the area to Wayne Brown. The midfielder cut inside and smashed a left footed drive high passed Begovic in the Portsmouth goal.
The game settled down after the exciting start, however it was not long before a defensive error from Djimi Traore saw Ismael Ehui run clear of the Pompey backline, but for some last ditch defending from Oastler, Ehui could have been in for the second.
It was Ehui again five minutes later who was the width of the cross bar away from scoring. His pace and trickery was causing problems for Portsmouth’s central defensive pairing and when Ehui weaved one way and then the other he gave himself the yard of space needed to shoot. His effort, a fizzing left footed drive, skimmed the top of the bar with Begovic beaten by the sheer pace of the shot.
It was a pleasing sign for Whites fans to see Moritz Volz back on the pitch playing and a lot of what was good about Fulham in the first half was coming from him, both from a defensive and attacking point of view. Not only was he shackling the lively Matthew Taylor but he was forging a good partnership with Hudson-Odoi down Fulham’s right.
A hat-trick of chances for Ehui came after 20 minutes but no goals to show for it, as a deep corner was headed back into the six yard box and an acrobatic effort from the forward flew over the bar.
Despite some possession in the final third, Portsmouth failed to make any inroads into the Fulham area and cause Ricardo Batista any real concerns. In fact a couple of Fulham’s most promising moves came from Pompey squandering possession in good attacking positions. One of these occasions saw Seol intercept a ball being played into the Fulham area and broke free down the right, however the covering defender shepherded him away from the danger areas and eventually out of play.
It took 38 minutes for Portsmouth to register their first shot, a wayward drive over the bar from Andrea Motumbo. However, this was a positive period for Portsmouth as a quick succession of corners saw them gain a hold of the game for a time. Another opportunity for Portsmouth saw them break clear with two defenders to beat but the striking duo failed to make the most of it.
On the stroke of half time Portsmouth had only their keeper to thank for keeping the deficit to just one. Ehui, again, had wriggled clear of his marker and sent a fierce strike towards goal; however, Begovic was equal to it and palmed the ball behind.
It didn’t take long for the Whites to register an opportunity at the beginning of the second period. Just 10 minutes in and Nathan Ashton drilled in a ball just off the ground, across the area. It managed to go through a defenders’ legs and fell to Seol, but the pace of the ball made it tricky and the defender managed to remedy his mistake.
Moritz Volz departed from the game just after the hour it what seemed like a planned substitution, a good evening’s work for him.
The second half saw a much move even encounter as Portsmouth began to create more threatening chances on the Fulham goal. Their best chance of the game occurred when a corner skipped straight across the Fulham area and David Nugent, perhaps caught unawares, skewed his shot wide of the post.
This missed opportunity was made to look all the more costly seven minutes later when the Whites doubled their lead with some classic counter attacking football. Having dispossessed Hughes in the middle of the pitch Ehui raced clear with the ball, he fed it outside to Seol who charged down the left flank, he cut the ball back and despite the attentions of a defender, Brown poked the ball home for his second of the game.
Adrian Leijer was thankful moments after the re-start that a covering defender was on hand as he pulled back Matt Taylor by the shirt with the Pompey winger racing onto a through ball, Leijer escaped with a caution. Credit to Portsmouth who had by no means given up the fight.
All the fight in the world though could not help the goalkeeping error that gifted Fulham their third goal and Fulham all three points. Lino Goncalves, who had replaced Alexey Smertin, sped down the left before drifting a ball into the box. Despite looking like a routine catch for Begovic, the keeper fumbled the ball into his own net, much to the delight of the Fulham fans.
With the third goal it seemed that both sides knew the outcome and the drama was over, but with only a few minutes of normal time left an altercation between Omozusi and Taylor saw both players booked after a scuffle in the corner. With time running out Fulham played keep ball, on what was, all round, a successful night’s work for them.
Fulham: Batista; Volz (Briggs 61), Omozusi, Leijer, Ashton (Anderson 87); Hudson-Odoi, Smertin (Goncalves 67), Milsom, Brown; Seol, Ehui
Subs Not Used: Etheridge (GK), Uwezu
Booked: Leijer, Omozusi