Match Report
Fulham (0) 0-0 (0) Everton
Premier League Match Day 22 23/24 at Craven Cottage
Tuesday 30th January 2024 KO: 19:45
Referee:
Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)
|
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Everton |
| Goals |
(0)0 |
0 (0) |
|
| Scorers |
- |
- |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
25 |
21 |
| On target |
6 |
4 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
24% |
19% |
| Possession |
69% |
31% |
| Passes |
612 |
262 |
| Passes Success |
86% |
31% |
| Crosses |
33 |
17 |
| Crosses Success |
33% |
41% |
| Corners |
15 |
6 |
| Tackles |
6 |
22 |
| Tackles Success |
83% |
55% |
| Saves |
2 |
5 |
| Fouls |
6 |
12 |
| Offsides |
3 |
2 |
| Yellows |
1 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
Beto's late miss ensured Everton dropped back into the Premier League relegation zone after holding Fulham to a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage.
Sean Dyche's side, whose appeal against a 10-point penalty imposed for breaches of Premier League financial rules is being heard this week, were denied a first-half opener when Timothy Castagne produced a stunning clearance off the line to prevent an Antonee Robinson own goal.
Fulham were the better side in the second half, however, with Castagne's header striking the crossbar before Jordan Pickford produced a sublime save to keep out Tosin Adarabioyo's effort from Willian's cross. Deep into stoppage time, James Tarkowski met Dwight McNeil's corner to set up substitute Beto for a simple finish but he headed glaringly over.
With Luton thrashing Brighton at Kenilworth Road, the result means Everton drop into the relegation zone by a point while Fulham rise to 12th above Bournemouth ahead of the remaining midweek games.
On the eve of this trip to the capital, Dyche - who marked one year in charge at Goodison Park on Tuesday - had urged his threadbare squad to deal with the requirements of supporters who have been through the wringer in the last couple of seasons.
The Toffees' only victory in their previous eight games was the FA Cup third-round replay against Crystal Palace, but the benefit of that was negated by their last-gasp 2-1 defeat at home to Luton in the fourth round.
It was something of a flat performance which resulted in boos at the final whistle - but the visitors made a bright start at Fulham with Jack Harrison curling a shot wide from Dominic Calvert-Lewin's lay-off inside five minutes.
Calvert-Lewin was then denied by Issa Diop's block on the penalty spot moments later from Vitalii Mykolenko's cross.
Like Fulham, Everton's cup exit means they now have only Premier League survival to focus on, but Dyche's resources are being stretched to the limit with Amadou Onana's absence with a knock a fresh problem for an already seriously-depleted midfield.
Marco Silva, who managed Everton between 2018 and 2019, watched his side threaten sporadically in the opening period with Robinson testing Pickford and Joao Palhinha heading over from Andreas Pereira's set-piece.
Midway through the first half, Everton could not believe they had not taken the lead. Bernd Leno could only parry Arnaut Danjuma's free-kick back to Tarkowski whose shot into the ground was flicked onto his own crossbar by Diop.
The ball struck Robinson with his arm by his side to carry it towards the goal but Castagne made a superb recovery to prevent it from crossing the line.
Three minutes before the break, Raul Jimenez had the goal at his mercy but sliced wide from point-blank range after Tarkowski inadvertently hooked Castagne's deflected shot back into the danger zone.
Jimenez did not emerge for the second period as he was seen heading down the tunnel nursing the back of his left hamstring - but his replacement Rodrigo Muniz nearly pounced on a mistake from McNeil eight minutes after the restart only to be denied by the onrushing Pickford.
Calvert-Lewin's header from James Garner's corner grazed the crossbar at the far post as somehow it remained scoreless before Ben Godfrey made a crucial goal-saving tackle with Muniz ready to tap home from Bobby Decordova-Reid's cross.
Fulham continued to probe and came closest to breaking the deadlock midway through the second period when Castagne redirected Decordova-Reid's header from Pereira's corner onto the bar. Everton stood firm, and when Tosin did rise above Ashley Young to head Willian's cross towards the top corner, he found the sprawling Pickford in his way.
The stage was then set for Beto's smash-and-grab but the Everton substitute fluffed his lines when found virtually underneath the crossbar by Tarkowski.
Marco Silva is now unbeaten in all of his five meetings with former club Everton as Fulham manager across all competitions (P5 W2 D3). In fact, since taking over Fulham in 2021, the Cottagers have played Everton more times without losing (5) than any other team.
Fulham have drawn their first home Premier League match of the season in what was their 11th such game; it's the latest into a Premier League season that they've recorded their first home draw of the campaign.
Fulham : Leno, Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop (Ream 75), Robinson, Palhinha, Cairney, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, Jimenez (Muniz 45)
Unused substitutes: Rodak, Tete, Reed, Lukic, Vinicius, Francois, Sekularac
Booked: Palhinha (26,f)
Everton : Pickford, Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Young (Patterson 81), McNeil, Garner, Danjuma (Dobbin 90), Harrison, Calvert-Lewin (Beto 81)
Unused substitutes: Keane, Virgínia, Beto, Chermiti, Lonergan, Hunt, Metcalfe
Booked: Godfrey (28,f), Branthwaite (42,f),
Referee:
Thomas Bramall (Sheffield)
Attendance: 24,376
Fulham boss Marco Silva:
"I'm disappointed with the result but both teams had chances to score. The stats show we were dominant. Chances, corners, etc. We didn't start well but then we settled and started to be dominant.
"We were aware of their away form which has been really good this season. Most of their points have come from away games. They've been strong from set-pieces and counter-attacks. In the second half, we pushed them back.
"There were some good moments of football, but we missed chances which is not a good thing. Tonight and last Saturday [against Newcastle] is another good example. We created more chances than that day and were even more dominant on the pitch but the decision-making has to be better.
"We have to be more assertive and more calm in certain situations. We need to be more clinical."
Everton boss Sean Dyche:
"A ding-dong of a game. If ever there was an exciting 0-0 then I think this was it. They had chances and so did we so you can argue it either way. We have a stretched team at the moment. They've got a good home record, so we take the point.
"I expect a lot of these players and I don't like crying things in. We're missing some players. There's a risk and reward in playing those who've not had many minutes. Dwight's had to come into central midfield and Ben [Godfrey] has hardly played so we're asking a lot of the group.
"We lost track on Saturday [against Luton] but I'm pleased with the performance. To come down and get a clean sheet and have the mentality to nick it was pleasing.
"The reality is that ever since I walked into the building, there was a lot of work to be done and that remains the case. You've got to win games and managers don't get time to build if they're not winning games."
Fulham are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Burnley; kick-off 3pm.