Monday Fulham Stuff (21/03/16)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Betts: We Dug Deep

After seven months on the sidelines with injury, Marcus Bettinelli was delighted to cap his return to Fulham's starting XI by playing a key role in the 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.

The keeper had been out of action since suffering the problem in a collision with teammate Matt Smith at Hull City in August. But, after four Under-21 games, he was recalled to the First Team for the clash at promotion-chasing Blues and made a couple of vital stops as the Whites earned a point in their battle against the drop.

"It's been a hell of a road," Bettinelli told the official website. "It was quite emotional for me and my mum, grandad and aunty were here; it's been a long road for them as well.

"I'm happy to be back and all I want to do is try and help us get more points on the board. These last eight games are going to be so important. I'll give my all and so will everyone else in the dressing room. We've got ourselves into this mess and we need to get us out of it."

A gritty Fulham display saw the Whites lead through Rohan Ince, but Michael Morrison levelled as the spoils were shared in the Midlands.

"St Andrew's is a tough place to go," continued Bettinelli. "Birmingham are having a good season, we're not, so sometimes getting a result means you've got to dig deep and fight for each other. It might not be pretty but so be it.

"There have been times this season when people have questioned our commitment, desire and fight but no-one could label that at us at Birmingham. We're actually disappointed we didn't get the win, but to get a point is good. We did what we had to do."

With Fulham leading 1-0, Bettinelli showed he was back in business with a brilliant point-blank save to deny Jonathan Spector on the stroke of half-time.

"We gave quite a lot of free-kicks away which wasn't a great idea as they put a lot of crosses into the box," stated Bettinelli. "It went back post and I saw that he was unmarked out of the corner of my eye. I threw myself at him, I didn't know too much about it, but I think it hit my shoulder and went over. It was an important save at a crucial time but I thought there were some big blocks from our defenders, too. Richard Stearman was amazing, and Michael Madl, Dan Burn and Tim Ream defended really well. That's all you can ask from a back four."

Despite's Fulham's gritty display, Blues looked set to win it late on when David Davis' shot hit the post and looped off Bettinelli, but Clayton Donaldson put the rebound wide.

"The shot from the edge of the box took a little nick off Michael's ankle and hit the post," said Bettinelli. "Donaldson's followed up and he's missed but Dan did brilliantly to put him off as I was trying to get off the floor. Thankfully he put it over."

With Rotherham United winning to move out of the bottom three, Milton Keynes Dons slipped into the relegation zone, a point and a place below Fulham. Fulham meet Dons in a huge match at the Cottage after the international break.

"None of us want to be in this situation but we are," added Bettinelli. "We'll need to have a long hard look at ourselves during the international break and we've had a couple of meetings recently to assess things.

"MK is going to be another massive game. We can't afford a repeat of what happened against Bristol City. We're got a good period now to prepare for the game and we'll be ready to fight. If it needs to be ugly to get a result then we don't really care. The most important thing is keeping this Club in the division, then we can reform and go again next season. That's all our aim is at the moment, trying to get as many points on the board as we can in the next eight games."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/march/20/betts-we-dug-deep?

[WhiteJC]

 
View from the South – Birmingham City v Fulham

Will and Chris had managed to get some VIP hospitality seats in one of the boxes and whilst they said they tried to get me in, the truth of it was that they probably decided I was a little too hoi-polloi to join them so I had to settle for the company of my youngest son, Ben who travelled up from Oxford and could occupy Chris's seat which was available given that he and Will were drinking elsewhere! Will had to take his children swimming early doors and arranged to pick me up at Guildford station some time between ten and half past. That part of the plan went OK, it remained to be seen whether we would rendezvous with Ben at Birmingham International on the way through before proceeding to the ground. Ben and I intended to get a drink in the George, catch some of the lunchtime game and then grab some food in the Cookhouse before kick off. The last time we had played Fulham at Craven Cottage, Blues had given one of the most complete performances of the season with a spectacular 5-2 win with a sublime goal at the end from Viv Soloman-Otabor who ran 70 yards with the ball before depositing it into the bottom corner. Any repeat of that performance and we were in for a treat but I've been watching football long enough now to make me doubt it.

Will and I arrived at Baginton to pick up Chris who mischievously announced the moment he saw me that his little brother was a fair weather supporter on the grounds that he was only here on a Saturday because he was going into the posh area. He related a conversation that went something like this;

Chris: "Will, how are you fixed for the match this Saturday?"

Will: "No chance mate, I have shed loads of stuff to do at home and I've got to take the kids swimming Saturday morning and Juley has jobs she wants me to finish off at home and with everything that's happening at work this week I've got stuff I'm going to have to find time to finish up there so I can't see me getting away this weekend, sorry."

Chris: "OK Will, no problem, sorry to hear that. Can you give me Baz's number as I need to tell him there's a spare place in hospitality this week and I'm sure he'd like to come."

Will: "Corporate! No, wait! I might be able to get away after all if I take the kids swimming early doors and ..........."

Chris: "Hang on, you were just telling me that you had loads on and that Juley wouldn't let you go."

Will: "I know but now I've got an excuse! If I tell her that I've been invited to a corporate do, she can hardly stop me going can she? I'll tell Baz that your usual seat's free!"

So now it all comes out! Will is stammering and back-pedalling for all he's worth and the truth is laid bare! Yours truly has been done out of a three course meal in the warm with a pint or two on tap when in actual fact I'd been told that there was a spare ticket going in the stands and maybe one of my lads might want to come! I could only agree with Chris's conclusion; fair weather indeed!

We set off and picked up Ben on the way down the Coventry Road and got to the ground about one o'clock whereupon Chris and Will departed for the corporate area and Ben and I made for the George for a couple of scoops before entering the ground for a pork bap with apple sauce. We were offered salad to go with it but Ben and I just looked incredulously at each other and were well supported by fellow noses around us who agreed that salad in a bap with half a pig in it was wrung! Just plain wrung!

As for the match itself, it wasn't the spectacle we saw at Craven Cottage but with a bit more tempo, guile and precision in final pass and finishing, Fulham were there for the taking. As it was, it was another lacklustre first half where the away side looked the more threatening although neither side were great in truth. Blues created the square root of nothing and looked lethargic and ponderous with the capacity to cough up possession the moment they got it. Fortunately, Fulham weren't good enough to capitalise except for the one time they did score on 37 minutes from a breakaway from our corner. A clearance by Emerson Hyndman to Ross McCormack near the halfway line was swept out to Tom Cairney, Fulham's best player on the day I felt, who turned inside and waited for the overlapping Rohan Ince who was fed in with a perfectly weighted pass so the midfielder could hit it fiercely first time. Kuzczak got down to the shot and some will contend that he did well to do so but the keeper will probably feel he could have done a little better as the ball squirmed agonisingly under his body and trickled over the line. Where Grounds and Spector were only they know and it clearly showed our lack of pace and mobility at the back. It was a poor goal to concede from our set piece and we now had a mountain to climb. Our record at retrieving points from losing positions this season is hardly startling.

It wasn't as if Blues had not had clear warning prior to the opening goal; Emerson Hyndman nearly scored on 18 minutes when Moussa Dembele robbed Spector when the defender allowed the ball to bounce and then tried to shepherd it out. This was yet another example of why the American struggles to get a starting berth. At this level, poor errors of judgement like this get punished and it was only a good block on the shot by Hyndman by Morrison when Dembele cut the ball back to him got Blues out of jail. A few minutes later Scott Parker was put clean through in the inside left position and in his England days this would have ended up as only one outcome but the former international dithered which allowed Grounds to get goal side and see off the danger. Despite these isolated incidents the first half was fairly even, if tedious and the away side went into the break ahead.

In the second period Gary Rowett gave the hook to Kieftenbeld and replaced him with Jacques Maghoma on 53 minutes and reverted to 4-2-3-1 from 4-3-3. This led to an improvement in the play from Blues and the previously subdued home support started to engage. They did not have to wait long before Morrison netted the equaliser on 56 minutes. David Cotterill seized on a loose ball on the right wing and delivered an excellent ball into the box. Morrison outmuscled his defender to bury a downward header past the stranded Marcus Bettenelli in the Fulham goal to the evident delight and relief of the home fans. Blues could and should have gone on to take all three points but an excellent save from a fierce left footed drive from Caddis prevented the go ahead goal. Just before the end David Davis beat Bettenelli with a low shot from the edge of the area only for it to crash off the post. It rebounded awkwardly to Clayton Donaldson who missed from four yards. That chance was the game right there but it was gone and with it the extra two points that on the second half showing should have been claimed. Fulham held on and we had to settle for a draw which is not enough at this stage.

My feeling is and has been all season that we won't make the playoffs. I think there have been and will be too many games like this. (Rotherham, Wolves, Bristol, QPR and Blackburn are but five examples) We do not score enough goals, we don't take our chances, we are frail defensively and we therefore concede soft goals at critical moments; we aren't good enough I'm afraid but it has still been a good season whatever happens.

The Good: The company of my son, Ben and the fact we were able to enjoy the day and have a couple of beers together. This is what football, life, the universe and everything is all about. Fulham's goal from their perspective was a well worked move and well taken but our poor defending contributed to it.

The Bad: The result; Blues really should be able to beat teams like Fulham at home. I mean no disrespect but they are a pale shadow of what I would expect from such a famous old club.

The Ugly: Nothing to report; despite the disappointing result we all had a great day.

Birmingham City: Thomas Kuzczak 5, Paul Caddis 8, Michael Morrison 6, Jonathan Spector 4, Jonathan Grounds 5, Maikel Kieftenbeld 6 (Jacques Maghoma 53, 7) Stephen Gleeson 6, David Davis 7, David Cotterill 6 (Will Buckley 81, N/A) Jon Toral 6 (James Vaughan 74, 6) Clayton Donaldson 6.

Subs not used: Adam Legzdins, Paul Robinson, Viv Soloman-Otabor, Ryan Shotton.

Goals: Morrison.

Yellow cards: None.

Fulham: Marcus Bettenelli 6, Richard Stearman 6, Michael Madl 6, Fernando Amorebietta 6, Tim Ream 6, Tom Cairney 8, Scott Parker 7, Rohan Ince 7, Emerson Hyndman 7 (Ryan Fredericks 74, 6) Ross McCormack 7, Moussa Dembele 6 (Matt Smith 86, N/A)

Subs not used: Andrew Lonergan, Jamie O'Hara, Jazz Richards, Dan Burn, Luke Garbutt.

Yellow cards: Dembele, Parker, Madl, Fredericks, Bettenelli.

Referee: Darren Handley 6: The only criticism I would level at the officials is that it took until stoppage time before Bettenelli was booked for time wasting. Earlier intervention would have negated the need for so much time added (six minutes) In addition Fulham adopted a physical approach (I don't blame them given their position) which explains the number of cards they picked up but cards should have been meted out in the first half in my opinion and some of the cynical behaviour that occurred in the second may well have resulted in harsher sanction on the visitors but the referee was not the reason we dropped points; we didn't do enough to win and that is the stark truth.

Attendance: 17,104 (792 away fans)

Baize KRO


http://www.joysandsorrows.co.uk/2016/03/view-from-the-south-birmingham-city-v-fulham/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Birmingham City 1 Fulham 1: All square as Blues slip up in play-off race

By Harrison Taylor

After last weekend's rather unspectacular result at wolves, blues were looking to end their somewhat poor form in front of goal.

This form is apparent by the fact they have scored more goals against Saturday's opponent in the reverse fixture (five) than they managed since the end of January (three).

Surprisingly, Gary Rowett made no changes from the 0-0 draw from the weekend, whilst the away team opted for a traditional 4-4-2 which included 4 centre halves after they were forced to make a late change before kick-off.

This meant that former blue Dan Burn, who had an impressive loan spell at the club a couple of years ago, came into the team.

The game took a while to get going as there were no real opportunities for either side in the first 10 minutes.

The first decent opportunity came for Fulham.

A Jonathan Spector mistake meant that Moussa Dembele was able to lay the ball back into the box for Emerson Hyndman whose shot was blocked.

Five minutes later Fulham continued to be a threat to Kuszacks' goal, this time it was Fulham Captain Scott Parker who was able to wriggle past several Blues bodies only to see his poor chip blocked off the line by Grounds.

The first real chance for the home team came from a free kick.

One of Paul Caddis' surging runs from the right meant that Tim Ream had no choice but to take him down. David Cotterill laid the ball to Steven Gleeson on the edge of the box who curled his shot round the post.

Fulham's goal came on 36 minutes.

Ross McCormack played an optimistic diagonal pass to Tom Cairney who was given time to control the ball. Rohan Ince made a run on his right hand side, receiving a back heel pass from Cairney firing the cottagers into the lead. His strike creeping under the deflated Kuszack.

At half time, Fulham were definitely the better team with 3 decent efforts on target whilst Blues were unable to hit the target at all.

Just over five minutes into the first half, Maghoma came on for Keiftenbeld sparking life in to Blues.

Two minutes later the home team found the equaliser.

Captain Michael Morrison's towering header from Cotterill's cross beat Marcus Bettinell, the day's pantomime villain.

Although Blues seemed the dominant team in the second half, there was only one clear cut chance which was branded as "miss of the season" by some fans.

David Davis' shot struck the post and the rebound was scooped over the bar by Clayton Donaldson from 6 yards. "Miss of the season" a little harsh in my opinion.

Rowett said that Clayton was "distraught" at the final whistle.

Rowett also said post match that he told the players to "throw everything at them" at half time. This was clear through his positive substitutions when he brought on Maghoma, Vaughan and Buckley and eventually resorting to a 4-4-2.

Rowett went on to praise the players' character but stated "we are just missing a little bit of quality in front of goal."

Blues Captain, Morrison, said they the team needs to "keep doing what they're doing and it will fall for us, just like earlier in the season."

Ratings: Kuszack 6, Caddis 6, Morrison 6, Spector 5, Gounds 7, Davis 6, Keiftenbeld 5, Gleeson 6, Cotterill 7, Toral 6, Donaldson 6.

SUBS: Maghoma 6, Buckley 5, Vaughan 6.

MOTM: Dan Burn – Won everything in the air.

Ref – Darren Handley 5 – Slighlty inconsistent, no huge mistakes.


http://madeinbrumfanzine.com/2016/03/20/birmingham-city-1-fulham-1-all-square-as-blues-slip-up-in-play-off-race/

[MikeW]

Bit of confusion between these two reports.  In one Dan Burn didn't play, in the other he got MOM!

[westcliff white]

Says Dan won everything i the air, from memory didnt he miss a header that led to the goal?

[HatterDon]

"View from the South" -- catchy name, that