|Fulham defender Brede Hangeland praised the Club’s supporters following Thursday night’s memorable victory over current UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Fulham faithful produced an electric atmosphere for Hangeland and company and the Norwegian defender was clearly delighted to have extended the Club’s unbeaten European record at the Cottage.
“It’s great when the crowd gets behind you like they did on Thursday night,” said Hangeland. “I hope everyone had a good time and we’re certainly happy with the score.
“We’ve beaten them at home so we’ll go there [Donetsk] with a lot of confidence and hopefully we can get a good result.
“It’s a good achievement, especially after playing such a good team. I was really impressed with the way they played the game. We’ll have to take our chances when we go to the Ukraine next week for the second leg."
Fulham’s Ukrainian opponents produced spells of sublime football on Thursday night and Hangeland revealed after the game that composure and patience were crucial factors in dealing with Shakhtar’s highly impressive offensive play.
“When you play against these types of teams you have to accept they’re very good on the ball and will have most of the possession,” said Hangeland.
“Luckily that’s not always the way forward to score goals and on Thursday night we won 2-1 even though they must have had 60 to 70 percent of the possession - it’s important that you don’t get frustrated by that.
“I think they’re the best team we’ve played in Europe by quite a margin. You could see why they’re the current holders of the UEFA Cup."
Thursday night’s encounter was settled by a moment of magic from Bobby Zamora and Hangeland was keen to highlight the importance of the striker to the Fulham Team after the match.
“He’s [Zamora] done well ever since he arrived at the Club – the only difference this year is he’s had some more luck in front of goal. We’ve always known he was a good player and it’s good that everyone else can see that now too.
“He’s vital to the Team and certainly one of our most important players. He holds the ball up well; he scores goals and gives opposition defenders a very hard time.
“He showed again on Thursday night what a massive player he is for us. He can make things happen and he scored a fantastic goal and I’m very happy for him.”
All talk of next week’s return leg will be put on ice for now as Roy Hodgson’s side prepare for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Birmingham City and Hangeland is confident Fulham can continue their outstanding home record this weekend.
“Our main priority has always been the Premier League but it’s always nice to play in this type of competition and hopefully we can continue further.
“It’s now all about preparing for the game against Birmingham City on Sunday and we’ll talk about Shakhtar again after that.
“At home we’re capable of beating most teams and that’s what we’ll be trying to do on Sunday.”
Get down to the Cottage on Sunday to support Roy Hodgson's side as they take on Birmingham City at the Cottage. Tickets are now on General Sale.|
