Charlton Athletic
1 Fulham 1
FULHAM may have arrived in the FA Barclaycard Premiership with an embarrassment
of riches at their disposal courtesy of Mohamed Al Fayed, their wealthy
chairman, but the currency of staying among the elite is goals. When the
day of reckoning is upon them in May, it is hoped that they do not regret
their day out at The Valley yesterday.
Against a depleted Charlton Athletic side that offered little more than
courage in the face of long odds, Fulham should have won at a canter. Try
as they might, though, impressive as they were, Fulham only once found the
net. The squandering of two points bordered on the inexcusable.
“Yes, we lost two points,” Jean Tigana, the Fulham manager, said. “We had
a problem with finishing but we kept playing, kept playing nice football,
and that is what is most important to me. We had many chances, of course
we are disappointed.”
Tigana has spent £33 million on strengthening his squad since the Nationwide
League first division was won with such ease and when Steve Marlet, the
£11.5 million striker bought from Lyons, recovers from injury, maybe Fulham
can turn superiority into victory.
Injuries sustained in the heat of Premiership combat are par for the course;
those sustained on the training pitch leave managers in a state of despair.
Thus Alan Curbishley could only hang his head when the enthusiasm of Scott
Parker got the better of him on Friday, his youthful exuberance leaving
Jonatan Johansson nursing a badly bruised ankle. Johansson became the tenth
Charlton player unavailable to face Fulham and it showed. In a scrappy first
half and throughout much of the second period, too, they played like the
ragbag collection they were. Fulham’s free-flowing football, with John Collins
and Sylvain Legwinski often to the fore, sliced through the home defence
at will.
“I don’t like using the injuries as an excuse but it’s not helping us,”
Curbishley said. “It didn’t help that we kept giving Fulham the ball, either.
If we’d passed it better we might have been OK, but we kept giving it back
to them. I suppose I’ve got to be delighted with a point.”
A first-half shot count of 10-1 in Fulham’s favour summed up the proceedings,
though it was Charlton, bizarrely, who went in front in the 33rd minute.
Chris Powell crossed from the left, Shaun Bartlett nodded back from beyond
the far post and Andy Melville swung his right leg. The ball struck his
shin and rocketed past Edwin van der Sar.
Four minutes later, justice was done. Legwinski raced through, drew a useful
save from Dean Kiely and accepted that the chance had gone begging. Not
so Luis Boa Morte. He may not be as renowned or as skilful as Louis Saha,
his prolific strike partner, but the finish was Saha-esque, a low drive
through a mass of bodies in the six-yard area.
Fulham persevered, with Saha, Steve Finnan and Legwinski missing openings,
and Charlton did the best they could. They were more competitive after the
interval, occasionally waking Van der Sar from his slumber, but rarely threatened
to score.
Fulham did, mostly on the break, but with a pace and precision that will
earn them many admirers this season. Boa Morte drove wide, Steed Malbranque,
a substitute, blazed over with his first touch and Sean Davis, otherwise
immaculate, scooped an effort into the stand rather than Kiely’s net. “I
suppose a share of the points was a fair reflection,” Mark Fish, the Charlton
defender, said. And then he laughed, giving the game away. Fulham should
have romped it.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC (3-5-2): D Kiely 5 — A Todd 5, S
Brown 5, M Fish 6 — L Young 4, G Stuart 6, S
Parker 6 (sub: P Konchesky, 70min, 6), J Euell 4, C
Powell 4 — K Lisbie 4 (sub: J Robinson, 46, 6), S Bartlett
5 (sub: J Salako, 80). Substitutes not used: B Roberts, J
Fortune. Booked: Brown, Bartlett.
FULHAM (4-4-2): E van der Sar 5 — S Finnan 6, A Melville
4, K Symons 5, R Brevett 6 — S Legwinski 7,
S Davis 7, L Clark 7 (sub: S Malbranque, 61, 6), J
Collins 7 — L Saha 6 (sub: B Hayles, 76), L Boa Morte 6.
Substitutes not used: M Taylor, B Goldbaek, A Ouaddou.
Referee: J Winter 6. |