Fulham Under-23s fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Stoke City on Friday night, despite leading thanks to a goal from Tyrese Francois.
It was very nearly a dream start as Jean-Pierre Tiehi sprinted down the right before unleashing a low drive, which was well blocked and collected by Stoke goalkeeper Nathan Broome.
Tiehi came close again not long after, as Fulham pushed for an early lead. Our number nine found himself through on goal but the defender did excellently to catch him and block the powerful effort.
The tempo remained high and Stoke created a chance of their own in the opening 10 minutes, with Christian Norton’s attempted header bouncing just wide. Luca Ashby-Hammond was rooted to the spot.
Stoke’s Thibaud Verlinden made Ashby-Hammond work in the 15th minute with an effort from out wide, which our shot-stopper blocked at the near-post.
The young Whites opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Francois. Ryan De Havilland played a beautiful chipped pass which broke the defensive line and Francois was there to tap the ball past the goalkeeper calmly.
Our lead lasted a matter of seconds, with Norton bringing the ball down before turning and curling his effort into the near top corner.
Ziyad Larkeche tried his luck from range just before the half hour mark, with his bullet effort drifting just over. A great effort, nonetheless.
Kevin McDonald came to the rescue on 38 minutes with a heroic sliding tackle to stop Verlinden, who had cut in on his right and was ready to take aim.
The first shot on target in the second half came from Stoke’s Edward Jones, who cut in before curling his effort towards goal. Despite aiming for the corner, it was straight down the ‘keeper’s throat.
The biggest chance of the second half came on the 70-minute mark, with Verlinden at the heart of it again. He used good trickery to move past Luca Murphy on the left-hand side before his driven shot fired wide of the far post.
Substitute Terry Ablade was played through on goal in the 77th minute after a clever flick on by Tiehi, but his effort was tame and didn’t give the goalkeeper much trouble.
The visitors regained their lead in the 81st minute, with William Forrester heading in from a corner. The young Whites needed to find a response but were left with little time.
As the clock ticked on, Fulham pushed for a late equaliser, but it wasn’t to be and the final whistle was soon blown.
Key Talking Points:
- Stefan Johansen and Kevin McDonald both played to boost Fulham’s chances
- The result makes it five straight defeats for the young Whites
Team Lineup:
L Ashby-Hammond (GK), L Murphy, C McAvoy, J Mundle-Smith, K McDonald, J Harris, R De Havilland, Z Larkeche, T Francois, JP Tiehi, S Johansen
Subs:
J Schwarzer (GK), A Pajaziti, T Ablade, E Ameyaw, J Page