Sunday Fulham Stuff (16/03/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham banish winless hoodoo
Fulham 1 Newcastle 0

One manager was absent, the other was beside himself with joy. As Alan Pardew began his three-match stadium ban for headbutting Hull's David Meyler, Felix Magath celebrated his first victory since taking charge of Fulham a month ago.

"I am happy, proud, lucky!" gushed the German, whose insistence that Fulham can avoid relegation looks a little less ludicrous now, even if they remain four points from safety and saddled with a ruinous goal difference.

Not only was it the first victory of Magath's tenure, it was Fulham's first in the Premier League since New Year's Day, as a season of frequent changes on and off the pitch had yielded just one constant for Fulham: disappointing results. It was a match of meagre quality but Fulham at least displayed a verve and cohesion that gives them hope of climbing out of trouble.

Magath dared to omit expensive recruits, though he said that the £12m striker Kostas Mitroglou was injured and Darren Bent could not play "for private reasons". Their absence meant that the main scoring burden fell on 19-year-old Cauley Woodrow, who showed the mobility that the more experienced pair lack but, alas, arrived fractionally too late to prod the ball into the net in the seventh minute after as a Lewis Holtby free kick flew across the face of goal.

Newcastle nearly scored on the counter-attack in the 36th minute, only for David Stockdale to dive across his goal to tip away a shot from Papiss Cisse. Stockdale had an excellent game, contributing largely to Fulham's first clean sheet since early December and vindicating Magath's decision to drop Maarten Stekelenburg.

Fulham were infuriated just after the break, when they were given cause to curse the accuracy of technology just after the hour. A deflected Johnny Heitinga shot from 25 yards struck the underside of the crossbar and then, according to the home fans and players, bounced down behind the line. But referee Howard Webb signalled for play to continue.

Incredulous gasps went around Craven Cottage when the giant screen showed the Hawk-Eye images that confirmed that the decision was correct. Such fine margins can be the difference between success and failure but not this time, as Newcastle contrived to make Fulham feel better with their lack of a clinical touch.

Askhan Dejagah's shot from 20 yards after cutting in from the left was powerfully struck but Krul should have stopped it. Instead it went under his hands and into the net.

In the dying moments Krul came up for a corner and the ball broke to him at the edge of the area. His shot hit Heitinga's hand but no penalty was awarded, much to the anger of Newcastle.

Observer



http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/fulham-banish-winless-hoodoo-30096499.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Newcastle midfielder tries to explain defeat against Fulham

Newcastle United suffered away day misery yesterday at Craven Cottage  as Fulham claimed all three points with a Ashkan Dejagah strike giving the London side their first league victory since New Years Day.

Cheick Tiote was in the starting line up and he was the first to try and explain Newcastle's defeat in an interview with the club's official website.

"We are disappointed. Everyone is down," explained the midfielder.

"We lost the game and wanted a better result today and a better performance.

"I don't know what went wrong. we didn't feel good, we didn't feel sharp as a team and there was a lot of sloppy passing and tackling.

"Sometimes this happens and you have no idea why.

Tiote also distanced himself from the suggestion that Pardew's suspension was a factor in the defeat yesterday. He said,

"It was different without the manager but there was still the same coaching team – JC (John Carver), Stoney (Steve Stone) and Woody (Andy Woodman).

"So I don't think you can say we lost because the manager wasn't on the bench

"The team have to take responsibility for the way we played."

This was only John Carver's second ever match in charge of the first team – the last being a victory in 2004 over Blackburn Rovers.

The interim boss will no doubt be hoping to bounce back next Saturday when his side host a rejuvenated Crystal Palace in front of an expectant St James' Park.


http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/2014/03/cheick-tiote-newcastle-united-fulham-defeat-interview/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Sounders' Clint Dempsey Hits Opponent Below the Belt with a Cheap Shot



This has to be a violation the bro code.

During an MLS game between the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC, Clint Dempsey took a cheap shot at Toronto's Mark Bloom, hitting him below the belt.

Something tells me that Dempsey may get into a bit of trouble for this shot.



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1994277-sounders-clint-dempsey-hits-opponent-below-the-belt-with-a-cheap-shot?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national