With heavy rain the night before, plaudits must go to the Palace ground staff who managed to provide a good playing surface for this encounter. Despite some physical tests during the Whites’ six-game unbeaten run, the test they faced against Crystal Palace in Beckenham was arguably their hardest yet in terms of the physicality in the match.
It looked as though the Whites might continue where they had left off from previous games when they went within inches of taking the lead after just two minutes. A corner swung in by Max Noble was met by Michael Uwezu, whose thumping header cannoned off the bar and was cleared by a Palace defender.
The early scare didn’t seem to perturb Palace too much though and they were soon back in their stride. A fast and physical approach saw the hosts slowly begin to stamp their authority on the game, but as has been the case throughout the campaign to date, the Whites’ defensive five stood firm and denied the goal scoring opportunities that Palace were building towards.
When the deadlock was broken, it was done so by the home side, and in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Such was the authority of Fulham’s defence that the only way a goal was going to be scored was from distance. Unfortunately this is precisely how Palace got their goal. The ball fell to a home player just inside the Whites half and, spotting Neil Etheridge off his line, he hit an audacious lob over the stranded keeper to open the scoring.
With the Whites going in at the break 1-0 down, Gary Brazil decided to shuffle his pack for the second-half, hoping to increase the attacking potency. The possession in the middle of the pitch had been there in the opening period, but a killer edge up front had been missing. The changes seemed to pay dividends as Fulham drew level courtesy of a goal from Karim Laribi, his first for the Club. A free-kick from the right was swung in and the Italian eluded his marker to stab the ball home.
The game never really looked like it would have a winner towards the end with both sides tiring. But despite the winning streak coming to an end, Fulham can look back at an excellent point gained.
An obviously proud John Murtough, spoke of the resilience and fortitude of his young side, amidst the in-your-face approach of the opposition. “It was a different test to what the lads have experienced so far this season,” explained Murtough. “It was a real test of character, especially after conceding first. They were a very physical side, but I thought they responded well to it. We perhaps might have liked them to create more and find a way to get that second goal, but it’s something they’ll work on in the coming weeks in training.
“Although the results have been great, we want to bring the focus back round to the development of these young lads and so far this season we’ve been happy with the progress made, but there is still a long way to go.”
Fulham: Etheridge; Cumber (Bichard 65), Thompson, Briggs, Anderson; Wilson (Laribi 65), Moscatiello, Saunders, Noble; Smith, Uwezu