Any early fears that this Avon Insurance Combination match would fall victim to this morning’s fog soon evaporated as kick-off approached.
Having not played a competitive reserve match since the 4-1 defeat at Luton at the beginning of October, one could be mistaken for thinking that Steve Kean’s men would be more than a little ring-rusty.
However, after a trio of friendly matches that involved Charlton, Southend and Southampton the Whites were raring to go.
The match started brightly enough as Fulham wasted little time in stamping their authority on the opposition.
Kevin Betsy was first to score for the Whites as he raced clear following a through-ball, which split the O’s defence in half. After rounding the onrushing ‘keeper, Betsy made no mistake in slotting home from the left corner of the six yard box.
Fulham continued to dominate the first half with a tenacious midfield comprised of Keevil, Sahnoun and Hayward, which restricted the pace and frequency of Orient’s attacks with great efficiency.
With half-time approaching and Orient having only enjoyed a few fleeting moments in front of goal, their midfield began to push further upfield in search of an equaliser.
As a direct result of this Fulham began to enjoy more space in front of the O’s back line. With Orient’s defence under increasing pressure it was only a matter of time before Luke Cornwall forced in Fulham’s second in predatory style after the O’s ‘keeper could only palm away Willock’s shot.
The second-half saw Fulham maintain their grip on the match as they comfortably took the sting out of Orient’s sporadic incursions upfield.
The result was sealed when Steve Hayward caught the O’s defence napping with a quickly taken free-kick to claim the third and final goal of this encounter.
Fulham:
Marcus Hahnemann, Wayne Collins (Captain), Paul Trollope, Zat Knight, Mark Hudson (Hutchison), Nicolas Sahnoun (Shevel), Steve Hayward, Kevin Betsy, Luke Cornwall, Calum Willock (Hammond), Same Keevil
Subs Used:
Tom Hutchison, David Shevel, Elvis Hammond
Source fulham fc