Fulham 1 Ipswich 1 - After match reaction
last updated Sunday 21st October 2001, 8:24 PM
Fulham
boss Jean Tigana - known for his calm persona - seemed to lose his rag at
the end of the match, confronting Ref Riley along with goalkeeper Edwin
van der Sar and left-back Rufus Brevett.
Captain Andy Melville said his manager was
determined to offer his opinion of Riley's performance.
The skipper, who also revealed his team-mates
felt Hermann Hreidarsson did foul Boa Morte when he was sent off for diving,
said: "Jean was frustrated and wanted to get his point across.
"The referee's only got a split-second
to make a decision, but there were some big decisions and we were a bit
disappointed with them.
"The lads thought he (Hreidarsson)
might have caught Luis with his knee, but referees have got to make decisions.
"They have someone who sits in the crowd
and assesses them, so they're under orders and they've got a difficult job.
"Luis is very disappointed. He's obviously
down about what happened. He hasn't said anything, and there's not much
you can say to someone who's that disappointed."
Ipswich boss George Burley - who disputed
the award of the penalty, claiming John McGreal accidentally handled the
ball - admitted the loss of George is a major blow.
Ipswich midfielder Finidi George will be out
until Christmas after suffering a depressed fracture of his cheekbone.
The Nigerian ace was floored by home centre-back
Alain Goma as he cleared a 12th-minute corner. The
collision was accidental, but George received immediate treatment and was
taken straight to hospital.
"He's got a depressed fracture of the
cheekbone and will be out for a couple of months," Burley said.
"It was an accidental thing - he went
for a header and was very brave. It's sad for us.
"We handed Fulham the first goal and
that was disappointing. We were patchy, and there were times when we were
getting on top and creating chances. "We
knew it would be a tough match. Fulham got behind the ball and battled away
to get a point, but when we got the equaliser we were looking to go and
win the game. "Winning games does
breed confidence, but we're in a very tough league and expectations are
high because we had an unbelievable season last year, finishing fifth."
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Source sportinglife
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