Holding the Fort

Whilst goals from Zoltan Gera and Bobby Zamora grabbed the headlines in Fulham’s scintillating 2-1 defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday night – the composure and resilience of the back four was, as ever, also instrumental.

The Whites made a dream start to their round of 32 first-leg tie at Craven Cottage when Gera slotted home from Zamora’s clever lay-off inside three minutes.

However, last season’s UEFA Cup winners hit back and responded with an impressive demonstration of attacking intent and intricate movement – spearheaded by their five-strong Brazilian contingent.

As Shakhtar’s dominance grew, Fulham spent long periods pinned with their backs to Mark Schwarzer’s goal with Aaron Hughes in particular working overtime to keep the Ukrainians at bay.

He told fulhamfc.com: “As we all know we started the game very well and scored a quick goal through Zoltan Gera. But after Shakhtar got the game restarted they pretty much kept possession for the rest of the half.

“They’re a good side and they showed that they have a lot of threat with their Brazilian players showing their great technical and creative ability. They’re a side that keeps the ball very well and always had it moving.

“That spell brought a goal of course, but for all their pressure I do think that was their only real chance, although at times we were throwing bodies in the way of everything.”

A goal from Luiz Adriano after 32 minutes certainly upped the ante as the Northern Ireland skipper went on to make several key blocks and a number of important tackles.

“In the second-half we put them under a bit more pressure and just tried to get in and amongst them,” said Hughes. “I think we picked our moments a lot better and enjoyed our fair share of possession.

“From that we managed to increase our tempo a little and as a result Bobby Zamora scored a fantastic goal that went in off the underneath of the bar. It was a brilliant strike and that set us up nicely.

“We knew it would be a game where we didn’t see large spells of the ball and that we would have to soak up the pressure and perhaps spend a bit of time doing all we could to keep them out.

“They’re a different type of opponent to what we are used to. But for all the possession that they had, I thought we defended pretty well and kept our shape.

“We were disappointed to concede the goal how we did, but apart from that I don’t think they cut through us that often. They had a few chances, but so did we.

“It was a tough game and we know that we have beaten a very good team. To come out on top was very satisfying and we can head into the second-leg with a bit of confidence.”

Fulham now have the advantage as they make the 1,500-mile trip to the Donbass Arena for Thursday night’s second-leg clash. But an even tougher encounter can be expected on Ukrainian soil with Mircea Lucescu’s side unbeaten at home this season.

The 30-year-old added: “We have a game against Birmingham City to play before that one. That’s the focus now, because Birmingham are a good side and one that is enjoying a very good season so far.

“When Sunday’s game is out of the way, then we’ll start thinking about heading out to Ukraine. I think we go there in a positive position, and Thursday night was a good win for us. But it is a difficult place to go, we know that.

“It would have been nice to go there having kept a clean sheet, but we’ll give it a good go of scoring a goal for ourselves which will even out that away goal. It will certainly be an interesting game, but one that everyone wants to be part of.”