Monday Fulham Stuff (08/02/16)...

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Cairney: Signs Are There

Tom Cairney believes Fulham are continuing to improve under the stewardship of Slaviša Jokanović.

The midfielder turned in an impressive display as the Whites were held to a 1-1 draw by Derby County at a blustery Cottage on Saturday. Fulham got their noses in front when Marcus Olsson turned into his own goal, but Craig Bryson's excellent strike on the stroke of half-time hauled the promotion-chasing Rams level.

"It was a bad feeling to concede just before half-time," Cairney told the official website. "We hadn't played our best football of the season in the first half but everyone had put a shift in and for them to equalise a minute before the break was a killer.

"The conditions made it really tough. First half, we tried to get in their faces a little bit and it was quite scrappy but we were on top. Second half the boss wanted us to play more football so he changed it around a little bit. We got into some good areas but they had a couple of chances as well. All in all, I thought it was a good game but it would have been lovely to have nicked it."

Cairney moved into a more central position after the restart and made Fulham tick with a strong showing, but the Whites were eventually indebted to Andrew Lonergan for two late saves.

"I think I had more of an effect on the game after the restart," stated Cairney. "The gaffer wanted me to get on the ball more and I think we started to play better football. We got Ross [McCormack] into good areas, but we needed someone to hit the back of the net and it didn't quite happen.

"But you can see Derby are a good side, just look at their substitutes' bench, that showed the quality in their squad. Perhaps a draw wasn't a bad result but obviously we want wins."

Fulham have now won just once in their last 16 games, not ideal ahead of a West London derby with rivals Queens Park Rangers next weekend.

"It's not what we want but we have to ignore all that and try and do the business on the pitch," added Cairney. "The performances are starting to come, we're starting to show what the gaffer wants from us and it would be great to beat QPR next week, like we did at home earlier this season.

"The players that were here for the home game, it was best atmosphere of the season and we rose to it that night. It's live on Sky on Saturday and everyone is looking forward to it."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/february/07/cairney-signs-are-there?

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3 things we learned from Fulham's 1-1 draw with Derby County

Fulham and Derby County played out an evenly-fought encounter which saw both sides come away from the match with a share of the points.

Derby's winless run extends to six league games after this point against struggling Fulham. Marcus Olsson made his debut, but it was far from a dream to start to his Rams career as he scored an own goal to put the home side ahead.

Paul Clement's Rams equalised just before the stroke of half time thanks to a sensational volley just inside the penalty box from Craig Bryson.

After the break, both sides came out in a positive fashion with both teams seeking all three points. Neither side could force the decisive goal which left each side with a point, a point that does no favours to either team.

Fulham's own winless streak now extends to five matches, dragging them deeper into the relegation battle.

FootballLeagueWorld writer Anthony Yeo identifies three things that we learned from yesterday's draw at Craven Cottage...

1) Fulham unable to hold a lead

Once again, the potent Fulham attack caused problems for the opposing defence, although it was an own goal that saw the home side take the lead.

However, they yet again failed to hold onto a winning position.

Fulham's inability to hold on to a lead leaves them just four points off the danger zone, although they have a much superior goal difference thanks to their deadly strike force of Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele.

Fulham should have enough in the squad to stay up, but if they keep giving up winning positions, they will make it hard work for themselves.

2) Derby alarm bells

Six games without a win now have the alarm bells ringing in Derby; they are now five points behind second place Middlesbrough.

The dramatic dip in form is not dissimilar to last season, which saw them drop from first in the Championship to finishing outside the play-offs.

The Rams need to start picking up maximum points or history may well repeat itself.

3) Derby missed George Thorne

George Thorne missed the clash with Fulham due to a calf injury, and they missed his presence in the middle of the park at Craven Cottage.

The Rams midfielder has been vital to Derby getting results this season, helping to set up the tempo of County's play. He has scored three goals in 23 games, but his control of the middle of the park is what Derby lacked as they failed to contain the Fulham midfield.

The Rams wait to see how long the influential midfielder will be side-lined for.


http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/3-things-we-learned-from-fulhams-1-1-draw-with-derby-county/?

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Derby County: Special afternoon for Craig Bryson at Fulham was only missing one thing

SCORING and celebrating in front of more than 4,000 travelling fans was a special moment for Craig Bryson - but the Derby County midfielder just wished the Rams could have sent them home from Fulham with all three points.

Bryson made his first league start since suffering a knee injury on the opening day of the season against Bolton Wanderers.

And he marked the occasion with his first goal of the campaign at Craven Cottage.

Bryson cancelled out Marcus Olsson's own goal when, just before half-time, he met Chris Martin's cross and guided a fine volley past Andy Lonergan from 15 yards - to send the away supporters wild.

The game eventually finished 1-1 as Derby's run without a league win was extended to seven games.

"It had been that long since I last started a league game, so it did feel a bit weird being out there," said Bryson.

"It was nice to score my first goal of the season.

"You can usually rely on Chris Martin to set you up. He did it the other night (in the goalless draw with Preston) and it went wide, so I'm glad it was a different outcome this time.

"It was one of those where if you connect well, it's got a good chance of going in.

"It's great to play for Derby again and when the fans turn out in their numbers like this, scoring in front of them was just fantastic.

"It's just a shame we couldn't send them home with three points."



Read more: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Derby-County-Special-afternoon-Craig-Bryson/story-28684593-detail/story.html#ixzz3zYv8zDag
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