Fulham humbled by League 2 Oldham

[MikeW]

This just appeared on The Times website - sums up the pitiful state of our squad in my view.

This was not a smash and grab piece of Cup magic, this was about beauty and pathos and perhaps not even that many Fulham fans could fail to acknowledge the compelling narrative that unfolded at Craven Cottage.

It is a cliché to state that this was a cup tie that had everything but it really did have all the elements required for a cracking upset. Oldham have a new, inexperienced manager, they have financial worries, they are a founder member of the Premier League that have fallen, slowly, painfully from grace. They needed this, they fought for it and achieved it the hard way.

Pete Wild's team went a goal behind having worked hard to be level at half time. They won a penalty just as Fulham appeared to be gaining control, they conceded a bizarre penalty of their own but their goalkeeper saved it and then, in the 88th minute found a winner scored by a 20-year-old on loan from Wigan whose deal was in the balance as Wild prepared for the game.

In many respects the fairy-tale was complete before kick-off. Wild, an Oldham fan, was in charge of his third game for the League Two club. No wonder he called himself the proudest man in Oldham. He was supposed to be in west London as a supporter and he still owes his mate the money for the ticket he had secured for the away end. Tonight he will be on the sofa in the Match of the Day studio trying to make sense of one the competition's most entertaining upsets.

The 33 year old did not even, really, have to worry about the result. He is an interim manager, promoted from within. His previous role was interim as well. Wild was just trying to get to grips with the temporary post of academy manager he was given in the summer, let alone be concerned about whether he would be asked to take the reins full time following the dismissal of Frankie Bunn.

He met with his coaching staff on Friday and concluded he would need two plans, one for a strong Fulham line up and one for a team heavily rotated. In the end Wild faced a team that was tinkered with in traditional Claudio Ranieri style rather than a full-blown B team.

Quite what the Italian was trying to gain or learn was unclear. Placing Calum Chambers back in defence was reasonable enough given he is not the best passer of the ball in midfield but it would surely have been better for morale to have outclassed the lower division side from the start, a reminder of how sublime they had been in the Championship last season, a break from the constant concern that they maybe belong there.

Wild had been open about his tactics. He wanted to contain Fulham, absorb all they could offer and then try to steal a winner or, if need be, an equaliser, late on. As master plans go, it was simple but clever. Ranieri called the first half boring but that was exactly what Wild wanted.

The Fulham players were evidently told to remember the gulf between the clubs and were more thoughtful at the start of the second half. They were rewarded by taking the lead after Neeskens Kebano's cross was cleared into the path of Denis Odoi who placed his shot, his side's first on target, carefully beyond Daniel Iversen in the Oldham goal. Suddenly the home side were precise, confident and began to place Oldham under real pressure.

Wild responded by bringing on his secret weapon. Sam Surridge's loan period from Bournemouth ended when this cup tie ended but he was determined to go out with a bang and forced a corner with his first contribution, a well struck shot at Marcus Bettinelli.

The game was opening up and when Tom Cairney set Kebano free with a neatly judged through ball it seemed the game was over but the 26-year-old placed his shot wide in front of the massed ranks of visiting supporters. It was not a great day for Kebano who was booked for a clear dive in the first half. There were, overall, too many poorly executed attempts in the game by Fulham.

Ryan Sessegnon came off the bench only to almost immediately give away a penalty after bundling over Clarke. Surridge, Oldham's leading scorer, calmly took the spot kick, sending Bettinelli the wrong way with some notable composure. Wild looked, for the first time, more like a fan than the manager, with his emotional reaction.

The joy seemed set to be short lived as another spot kick was awarded, this time against the lower division club as Christopher Missilou was judged to have brought down Cairney. It was a very close call backed up, somewhat surprisingly, by VAR and as the decision was mulled over, Ranieri brought Aleksander Mitrovic off the bench to take the penalty. The Serbia international was, however, thwarted by Iversen's stunning save and the moral, perhaps, is that a striker's first kick of the ball should not be from the spot.

A matter of minutes later Oldham took the lead after Gevaro Nepomuceno's cross was met boisterously by Callum Lang. Now Wild was unable to contain his excitement and incredulity and performed a series of crazy star jumps on the touchline.

Jean Michael Seri was presented with a half chance to save Fulham's blushes after Mitrovic chested the ball down for him but the angle was too acute. It was not Fulham's day and this result could have ramifications for their battle for survival in the league. But it is extremely hard to begrudge Oldham their moment in the January sun. Ranieri lamented his side's lack of passion but there was so little to spare as the novice on the touchline danced with unbridled joy.

[DevonFFC]

No worries, all will be forgotten if Newport County hold on

[filham]

A win for Fulham at Burnley next week now looks totally impossible.

[Bill2]

Beauty? Was he having a laugh, we lost but were not outplayed just can't shoot on target.

[The Old Count]

A win for Fulham at Burnley next week now looks totally impossible.

We won't win at Burnley. They will want it more. Their club means more to their players.

[alfie]

A win for Fulham at Burnley next week now looks totally impossible.

We won't win at Burnley. They will want it more. Their club means more to their players.

But we might.