Under cover of rain the team
set off from Motspur Park at 5.15pm as they made their way down the A3 to
Woking’s Kingfield stadium.
With the match being played on a slippery surface, the signs were that this
encounter would not be a typical pre-season run out for either side. England
boss, Sven Goran Eriksson was also in attendance so both Lee Clark and Sean
Davis had an added incentive to put in impressive performances.
Sparta got the match under way, yet it was Fulham who had the ball resting
in the net first as Lee Clark rifled past the Czech ‘keeper after he
latched on to a Louis Saha through-ball.
Fulham were making all of the early running, looking to test their opponents’
defencive capabilities. Although Sparta managed to contain the early exchanges
with their defencive shape, Fulham looked the more dangerous side.
Bjarne Goldbaek was looking to continue his good pre-season form by getting
involved in the action early on. Unfortunately for the Danish international,
his first major involvement in the game was to be on the receiving end of
a nasty-looking clash of heads – which resulted in Goldbaek being replaced
by Kevin Betsy on 8 minutes.
Sparta were by no means giving Fulham an easy ride seeing that the Whites
had to make the ball do a lot of work for relatively little return. This
was not wholly unexpected as Sparta coach Jaroslav Hrebík is well
renowned for his tactical awareness.
As the first-half wore on, Fulham looked to be crafting the more likely
chances, yet the Whites were still unable to totally shake off Sparta’s
heavily populated defence.
The Czech’s main tactic throughout the first-half was to leave hitman
Marek Kincl alone upfront to chase after any available scraps. Despite not
having much support in Sparta’s non-counter-attacking play, Kincl was
a willing runner in both attack and defence.
As Fulham gradually began to turn the screw, the watching crowd were waiting
in eager anticipation as the opening goal looked imminent. Yet it was Sparta
who came closest to netting on 36 minutes as John Collins managed to head
off the line following a Czech attack.
The interval arrived with the score goalless and the rain streaming down.
The second half saw Sparta make five changes whilst Fulham looked to keep
with the side which put the Czech’s under pressure in the first period.
Fulham’s tactic looked to be working as Kevin Betsy ran clear and on
to a Sean Davis pass. However, the former-Woking forward snatched at his
chance and put his shot wide.
With Zat Knight having an impressive match in defence, his equally lofty
Czech counterpart, Jirí Jarošík was playing the enforcer’s
role in midfield. Jarošík, a former under-21 international,
who has now graduated to the full Czech squad was looking typically hostile
in his influential defensive midfield role.
The conditions began to steadily worsen as Fulham still looked to pass their
way through their resolute opponents. Yet with the ball zipping across the
greasy Kingfield pitch, Fulham’s passing movements were forced into
becoming more direct.
By all indications, Sparta were looking to finish the match with a totally
different looking side on the pitch as highly-rated youngster Tomáš
Jun joined the fray on 73 minutes.
Sparta’s defensive organisation started to come to the fore as the
match began to draw to a close. Consistently closing Fulham down, Sparta’s
well-regimented lines worked in perfect synchronisation to prevent the Whites
from taking the lead.
However, in the dying seconds Luis Boa Morte was presented with the perfect
opportunity to snatch a late winner as the Czech ‘keeper parried a
Saha shot across the face of goal. As the ball rolled parallel with the
goal line, Boa Morte closed in for what surely looked like the winner.
As the referee looked at his watch, the Portuguese international somehow
managed to despatch his shot well away from goal to end the match in a rueful
manner.
All in all, Fulham managed to contain a Sparta side, which was constantly
being enlivened with the addition of fresh legs. Yet the watching supporters
will no doubt feel that under better conditions, the back of the net would
have been easier to find.
Fulham Line Up:
Maik Taylor, Steve Finnan, Rufus Brevett, Alain Goma, Zat Knight, Sean
Davis, Lee Clark, John Collins, Bjarne Goldbaek (Kevin Betsy 8), Luis Boa
Morte, Louis Saha |