Dickson Etuhu thought that justice was done on Saturday afternoon after Fulham eventually came out on top of an action-packed encounter at Craven Cottage.
The Whites twice saw a one-goal lead wiped out before finally edging the game 3-2 with a late penalty.
“We were a better team than them on the day,” opined the midfielder. “Ok, we didn’t clear our lines at times and made our own problems. They made it difficult for us but we always knew that we should win, and if we didn’t it would be our fault.
“I thought our attitude was right, we battled well. Last year we would have lost a game like that, so it just shows how far we’ve come.”
Fulham looked on course for a win after Damien Duff’s 37th minute opener. However, a fortuitous deflected equaliser just before the break meant that the players went in a little deflated at half-time. But Mark Hughes rallied his troops and sent them back out for the second period clearly determined to attack with purpose until the game was won.
“I thought we absolutely battered them in the first-half, so it was disappointing to concede,” he explained. “The gaffer had to get our heads in the right place, because he could see we were disappointed so he had to talk us round so we could go again.
“The game is never over until it’s over, and I thought in the second-half we went about our business in the right way.”
Almost poetically, the match winner turned out to be Bobby Zamora. The forward, making just his second appearance after a lengthy injury spell, was introduced as a 70th minute substitute into a physical game that looked tailor made for him to make a difference.
And sure enough, after Grant Hanley obstructed Aaron Hughes in the box to give away a penalty, who should step up to take the spot kick but last season’s top scorer?
“I was so happy for him,” enthused Dickson. “He’s a good friend of mine and you could see how happy all the boys were for him.
“He’s had a hard time, but he’s coming back now and looking strong. He just needs some games under his belt to get his confidence back and his sharpness. It’s like having a new signing.”
The win took Fulham’s points tally to 35, lifting us to 11th place. And as the campaign moves into its final phase, Dickson confirmed that he and his team-mates have their sights set firmly on the top half of the table, rather than what’s going on behind them.
“We’re just looking up – not worrying about 40 points or anything,” he said. “We know we’re a better team than where we are in the table, we just need to keep working hard, doing what the gaffer and the coaching staff tell us, and then I’m sure we’ll finish a lot higher.”