Sunday Fulham Stuff - 16/02/23...

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Results

Saturday
Everton	0-2	Villa
Leeds	1-0	Southampton
Leicester	0-1	Arsenal
West Ham	4-0	Forest
Bournemouth	1-4	Man City
Palace	0-0	Liverpool

[WhiteJC]

Fulham boss Marco Silva keeping Manor Solomon in cotton wool until fully fit
Fulham boss Marco Silva admits Manor Solomon is not fully ready to play 90 minutes after his equaliser earned Fulham a 1-1 draw with Wolves at Craven Cottage.

The winger suffered a serious ankle injury at the start of the season, ruling him out for four months of the campaign, but since his return he has found the net three times in as many matches.

Solomon struck the winner at Brighton last week and also scored against Nottingham Forest, before his effort on Friday cancelled out Pablo Sarabia's goal to secure a point for the hosts.

Silva praised the Israel international's quality but issued a note of caution as to when he will be ready for a full match.

"When a player performs well coming off the bench of course he is showing the quality that he has, how he is helping the team as well," the Fulham boss said.

"Of course Manor is not ready for 90 minutes but he needs minutes to play with this intensity because it is the Premier League and when you are out from playing for three or four months it is always difficult.

"The most important thing for me, for all the players, is they have to be important for the team, from the start or from the bench, that is what I demand from them.

"But I am pleased with a player who has come from the bench in the last three games, he has scored some important goals for us, and more importantly for him because it has boosted his confidence and he is different from the other players in what he has.

"His one-v-one situation is really strong and coming from the left he is important."



https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/fulham-boss-marco-silva-keeping-manor-solomon-cotton-wool-fully-fit

[WhiteJC]

An Israeli 'supersub' is taking the Premier League by storm
The top league in European soccer has a new 'King Solomon'

When Manor Solomon came off the bench at halftime on Friday with his team down a goal, it represented a kind of promotion for the 23-year-old Israeli winger. In Fulham's previous two matches, Solomon had entered late and scored with just a few minutes to play. This time, he was getting the entire second half to work with.

It didn't take him that long.

AN ABSOLUTE BEAUTY! Fulham have TIED it. #FULWOL

📺: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/N6FT1InLSs

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 24, 2023

In the 64th minute, Solomon received a pass on the left wing, faced up a Wolverhampton defender, then pushed the ball hard to his right, darting ahead of the defender to chase it. He caught up to it just outside the penalty area, where he whipped a low, curling shot around two defenders and the goalie into the corner of the net.

The gorgeous game-tying goal had Fulham fans in rapture, including one who was calling the super-substitute "Hamelech Solomon" — King Solomon.

With the goal, Solomon became the first Israeli to score in three straight English Premier League games since Ronny Rosenthal did for Liverpool in 1992. More importantly, the draw kept Fulham on track for a top-6 finish in the league, which would qualify the West London-baed club for European competition — a remarkable achievement for a team that wasn't even in the Premier League last year.

The trio of goals — his first three for Fulham — represents a stunning rise from the sidelines for the Kfar Saba native, and the culmination of a harrowing 12-month journey.

In three years and 70 appearances for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, Solomon made a name for himself as a giant-killer by scoring goals against Real Madrid and Manchester City. Last February, he was living in Kyiv when he awoke to the sound of Russian airstrikes. He fled to the border with Poland, from which he was whisked back to Israel.

In August, after his first game as a Fulham loan signing, Solomon sustained a knee injury. He missed the next five months, nearly half the Premier League season.

With Solomon recovering, Fulham, which was promoted after winning the second-tier English Championship last year, made a surprising run up the Premier League table thanks to a breakout season from striker Aleksandar Mitrović. Just as Solomon returned to the lineup, Mitrovic got hurt. But Fulham hasn't missed a beat.

Instead, the 5-foot-6 Solomon's quick feet and sure touch have breathed life into Fulham's offense. All three of his goals have been as forceful as they were accurate.

Two weeks ago, with Nottingham Forest pushing late to tie the game, Solomon received the ball in the penalty area on a counter-attack. With the goalkeeper closing down on him, Solomon settled himself, then ripped a shot past him into the back of the net with his favored right foot, sealing the win.

The stakes were even higher last week against Brighton & Hove Albion, one of Fulham's challengers for the top six. With the game scoreless in the 88th minute, the ball found Solomon in acres of space on the left side. With only one defender racing to cut off his path to the goal, Solomon kicked the ball several strides ahead, catching up to it deep in the penalty area. Somehow, with a narrow angle between him and the net, he smashed it with his left foot past the goalie and into the right corner.

"Astonishing!" the commentator gasped.

After Friday's game, Solomon told reporters he was looking forward to his next promotion: to the starting lineup.



https://forward.com/news/sports/537696/manor-solomon-fulham-goal/

[WhiteJC]

Superb Solomon strike secures point for Fulham
Manor Solomon must be getting close to a starting spot. The Israeli international curled home a splendid strike – his third goal in as many matches – to secure a point for Fulham against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had utterly dominated the first period, in a game of two halves at Craven Cottage last night.

Julen Lopetegui's side, who began the evening only three points above the dreaded drop zone, passed their hosts off the park in a first half that saw Fulham, who were fortunate to come away with all three points at Brighton last weekend due to a decisive last intervention from substitute Solomon, continue where they left off on the south coast. Whilst the Whites looked lethargic and below par, Wolves were purposeful in possession and the visitors' switch to a front two posed plenty of problems for a home defence that had been particularly miserly since the winter break.

Behind the two strikers, Matheus Nunes and Pablo Sarabia found plenty of space between the Fulham midfield and back four. Sarabia, signed for what looks like a bargain £4.4m from Paris Saint-Germain last month, should have scored his first goal for Wolves just after the twenty minute mark when he found plenty of space in the penalty area after intelligent interplay along the right flank from Raul Jimenez and Nelson Semedo only to shoot tamely at Bernd Leno.

But Fulham failed to heed the warning and the sharp Spaniard opened his account only a couple of minutes later. Antonee Robinson couldn't cut out a clever cross from Nunes, thereby allowing Jimenez to head the ball into Sarabia's path and the midfielder fired low in the bottom corner – past Bernd Leno's despairing dive. It was the first goal that Fulham had conceded in the Premier League in 338 minutes since Harry Kane rifled into a similarly unerring finish at the Hammersmith End to pilfer all three points for Tottenham back on January 23rd.

Wolves, with Mario Lemina a combative presence in midfield on his return to the Cottage, pressed the Whites relentlessly and kept the ball brilliantly in a first half showing that underlined just how much progress they have made under Lopetegui. They could have extended their lead before the break but Ruben Neves shot wastefully over after Nunes and Hugo Bueno had worked a good opening for their skipper. Marco Silva admitted Fulham were well below the standards he demands from his team and they only belatedly threatened towards the end of the first half having seen Joao Palhinha pick up a tenth booking of the season, which will rule the influential midfielder out of their next two league fixtures. Jose Sa saved smartly from a Carlos Vinicius header and Andreas Pereira's free-kick on the stroke of half time, but Silva was sufficiently perturbed to send on Solomon and Sasa Lukic at the start of the second period.

Wolves continued where they had left off before the break with former Fulham younger Max Kilman looping a header from a Neves free-kick onto the roof of the net, whilst Jimenez missed two glorious chances in quick succession. The tall forward nodded a Bueno cross over the bar before glancing a devilish delivery from Sarabia fractionally wide of the far post. It took some embarrassing play acting from Sa, who fell to the turf theatrically clutching an apparently seriously injured shoulder after claiming a high ball under the merest of pressure from Vinicius, to enliven both the Craven Cottage crowd and their team.

There was then little sympathy when both Mathias Cunha, who had to be stretchered off and replaced by Adama Traore, and Sarabia hit the deck in quick succession with Fulham failing to put the ball out of play. As Lotepegui seethed on the sidelines, the Wolves players confronted their opponents and Michael Oliver struggled to keep control. The home side suddenly snapped into a few tackles and the intensity went up a few notches. It took only five minutes for Fulham to level matters, as Solomon surged infield from the left wing and bent a brilliant finish past Sa – and his stiff shoulder – from the edge of the area.

Wolves nearly found an immediate response when Craig Dawson's header from a Nunes free-kick was well blocked by Diop, before Oliver and the video assistant referee Michael Salisbury ignored Fulham appeals for a penalty after Ream went to ground in the box at a home set-piece. Having been dominated in the first half, the Whites were now looking the likelier winners. Andreas Pereira took aim for distance but found the Hammersmith End rather than the top corner before another superb run from Solomon was snuffed out by the Wolves rearguard.

Midway through eight minutes of stoppage time, substitute Harry Wilson stood up a superb cross from the right and Vinicius looked to have headed in another winner to rival his SW6 derby settler last month but Sa's right hand preserved a deserved point for Wolves, who won't have any problem in avoiding relegation should they replicate the guile and spirit shown in this display. The share of the spoils means Fulham have reached 39 points from 25 games – the best return from a newly-promoted side since the top flight switched to a twenty-team competition. For that alone, the Hammersmith End was right to acclaim Silva as a genius even if the head coach was disappointed with this showing from the Whites.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Diop, Ream; Palhinha, Reed (Lukic 45); Decordova-Reid (Solomon 45), Willian (Wilson 83), Pereira; Vinicius. Subs (not used): Rodak, Kurzawa, Adarabioyo, Duffy, James.

BOOKED: Palhinha, Pereira.

GOAL: Solomon (64).

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (4-4-2): Sa; Semedo, Bueno, Dawson, Kilman; Lemina, Neves, Sarabia (Podence 76), Nunes (Moutinho 76); Cunha (Traore 60), Jimenez (Costa 84). Subs (not used): Bentley, Johnny, Ait-Nouri, Collins, Gomes.

GOAL: Sarabia (23).

REFEREE: Michael Oliver (Newcastle-upon-Tyne).

ATTENDANCE: 24,339.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/02/superb-solomon-strike-secures-point-for-fulham/

[WhiteJC]

Silva frustrated with Fulham's slow start
Marco Silva was frustrated with Fulham's slow start against Wolverhampton Wanderers last night but hailed his side for battling back to keep their unbeaten run going.

The Whites went behind to Pablo Sarabia's smart finish midway through a first period that Julien Lopetegui's side bossed and, although substitute Manor Solomon scored a sensational equaliser twenty minutes after coming off the bench, Silva was quick to recognise that a draw was a fair reflection of what had unfolded at Craven Cottage.

The Fulham head coach told his post-match press conference:

    "I believe our first half was not at the level that it should be, and our pressure was not even close to the way we planned, the way we should have done. We let them start the game so easily, without pressure, and they were too comfortable in that situation. Normally we don't give that time for opposition sides to start building their attacks the way they did it, and of course when you do that, it's much more difficult for us to have control in the game.

    Our pressure was not good, and then after that our dynamic on the ball was not enough as well. We never controlled the first half to be honest. For their goal, we made a mistake solely in the position of our two midfielders on the side of the ball and there was space there for them to explore. We spoke at half-time. We changed not just two players, we changed many, many things in our team.

    Of course, the two players made an impact in the game, but we as a team, we were completely different, much more aggressive, better positions off the ball as well to be aggressive in our first pressure as well, much more strong in some duels. First half, most of the second balls they won as well. Our dynamic was completely different second half. We equalised the game with a great goal from Manor, and I have to say second half we were really the team that showed more ambition to win the game. We controlled the game much more.

    Okay, there were not many chances for both teams, it was really a balanced game. We had a great chance from Vinicius at the end, great save from Sa, but probably it's a fair result."

Silva was also adamant that he will continue to manage Solomon's game time carefully after the Israeli international's devastating knee injury the day after his Fulham debut in August.

    "He's showing the quality that he has, and he's helping the team as well. Manor is not ready for 90 minutes, but at same time he needs minutes to play with this intensity, because this is the Premier League and when you've had three or four months without playing football matches week in and week out, it is always difficult for you.

    All my players have to be important for the team, from the start or from the bench. This is what I demand from them, and after it's up to me to take the decisions that are best for the team. But of course I'm pleased that a player that came from the bench the last three games scored such important goals for us. It's really important and, more importantly for him, it's boosting his confidence."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/02/silva-frustrated-with-fulhams-slow-start/

[WhiteJC]

Jedi: Point Gained

Antonee Robinson shed some light on the message from Marco Silva in the changing room at half-time on Friday night.

Fulham had lacked a little intensity in the opening 45 minutes and found themselves 1-0 down against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but a double change and some motivating words from our Head Coach saw us fight back to earn a deserved point.

"He just wanted us to come out and be a bit more confident," Robinson replied when asked what Silva had said.

"We weren't ourselves first half, people weren't getting on the ball the way we want to, we weren't playing out that well.

"We wanted to press a bit more aggressively, we obviously made changes which helped us as well, and to just go out and show the fight that we normally do every week, and it paid off in the end.

"I definitely see it as a point gained. We obviously went behind early on, and we were kind of under it first half to be honest, they came out firing.

"We like to start fast and we didn't start with the tempo that we normally do, so we were really happy to come back in the second half and get something out of the game."

Just before the equaliser, Wolves has introduced Adama Traore, but Robinson came out on top of his battles with the powerful winger, not least when he won possession in a dangerous area and then teed up Manor Solomon for his delightful goal.

"We were high up [the pitch] and I had the chance to be aggressive and get on him before he had the chance to get the ball out of his feet," Jedi explained. "It was a case of winning the 50/50 and giving the ball to Solo.

"Players like [Traore] coming on, you've got to know what their strengths are, obviously he's got pace to run in behind so I knew when he's deep and can get a run, that I need to drop off and protect in behind.

"And then when he's up the pitch and he hasn't got a chance to run, I've got to try and get tight to him and try to limit what he can do on the ball."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2023/february/25/jedi-point-gained/

[WhiteJC]

Super-sub Manor Solomon not ready for 90 minutes, says Fulham boss Marco Silva
Israeli on target for third consecutive match to earn a point against Wolves

Marco Silva praised goalscorer Manor Solomon but admitted he is not yet ready to play 90 minutes after his equaliser earned Fulham a 1-1 draw with Wolves at Craven Cottage.

The winger suffered a serious ankle injury at the start of the season, ruling him out for four months of the campaign, but since his return he has found the net three times in as many matches.

Solomon struck the winner at Brighton last week and also scored against Nottingham Forest, before his effort on Friday cancelled out Pablo Sarabia's goal to secure a point for the hosts.

Silva praised the Israel international's quality but issued a note of caution as to when he will be ready for a full match.

"When a player performs well coming off the bench of course he is showing the quality that he has, how he is helping the team as well," the Fulham boss said.

"Of course Manor is not ready for 90 minutes but he needs minutes to play with this intensity because it is the Premier League and when you are out from playing for three or four months it is always difficult.

"The most important thing for me, for all the players, is they have to be important for the team, from the start or from the bench, that is what I demand from them.

"But I am pleased with a player who has come from the bench in the last three games, he has scored some important goals for us, and more importantly for him because it has boosted his confidence and he is different from the other players in what he has.

"His one-v-one situation is really strong and coming from the left he is important."

Wolves were just three points above the Premier League drop zone going into the weekend but secured what could prove an important point against a high-flying Fulham side who have lost only two matches – at Newcastle and at home to Tottenham – since the World Cup break.

Manager Julen Lopetegui praised Sarabia for scoring his first goal for the club in a difficult game.

"[Goals are] always important for all the players," he said. "The most important thing is they score for our team.

"Happy for him but also for the team. It was a pity because we wanted to win here and we didn't do it.

"Fair or not, you can't change it. We came here looking for the three points and I think in the end we have one point more.

"We had to be positive, it's not an easy place to come, it's a tough match here against a good team."



https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/02/25/super-sub-manor-solomon-not-ready-for-90-minutes-says-fulham-boss-marco-silva/

[WhiteJC]

Academy Leadership Appointments

The Club is able to confirm some changes to our Academy leadership structure.

Sean Cullen has been appointed Academy Director. In addition, Steve Wigley has been appointed to a newly created role as Academy Technical Director. The Club believes that this new structure will enable the Academy to progress and be as competitive as possible moving forward.

Sean's new role will see him become the leader for the Academy's; governance, football administration, education, player care, and sports medicine & exercise science.



Before joining Fulham, Sean worked as a teacher at Coombe Boys' School and managed the partnership it had with our Academy. He was initially the Club's Education Manager, before working closely with Mike Cave as Academy Manager.

As for Steve, he will oversee the club's Academy football philosophy, coaching, performance insights and player recruitment.

Steve has enjoyed plenty of success at Fulham. After coaching our Under-18s to back-to-back league titles, he led the Under-21s to the PL2 Division Two title within his first season.



After the appointment, Huw Jennings commented: "We are delighted to announce Sean and Steve's promotions. They individually bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, which combined presents an exciting prospect for the future of our Academy."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2023/february/25/Academy-Leadership-Appointments/

[WhiteJC]

Cullen appointed Fulham's academy director
Fulham have confirmed the appointment of Sean Cullen as the club's academy director.

Cullen, who has been promoted from his role as academy manager to succeed Mike Cave following the latter's move to Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this season, has been a fixture in Fulham's category one academy working in various role having switched to football after beginning his career as a history teacher. He managed Fulham's award-winning partnership with Coombe Boy's School before moving to Motspur Park as Fulham's head of education.

Cullen, who worked in concert with Cave and his predecessor Huw Jennings, will take over a portfolio that includes overseeing Fulham's progress at under 21 and under 18 level as well as the younger age-group sides and the academy's administration, governance, sports science and player care. His expertise is underlined by his presence on the Premier League's education advisory board.

Under-21 coach Steve Wigley has also been handed a newly-created position as the academy's director. The former Southampton manager has been a pivotal part of Fulham's progress to coveted category one academy status and will now lead the academy's philosophy, coaching and recruitment. Wigley led the Whites' under-18 side to back-to-back national titles before steering Fulham's under 23s back to the top flight after being appointed to a new age group role last season.

Jennings, formerly Fulham's academy director and now the club's head of football development, said:

    "We are delighted to announce Sean and Steve's promotions. They individually bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, which combined presents an exciting prospect for the future of our academy."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/02/cullen-appointed-fulhams-academy-director/

[WhiteJC]

The case for Carlos Vinicius
Football is a game of opinions. The spread of social media and the internet means that fans are now content producers and they can all try their hand at instant analysis. Such a phenomenon has been great for sites like ours, who can see our articles, interviews, match reports and podcasts picked up by people in all corners of the globe. But, as I wrote in one of my first pieces for the website, there are down sides. However successful your team might be, there appears to be a need for a scapegoat. I wrote previously in defence of Dan James and, following Friday night's draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, I've had to put pen to paper in support of Carlos Vinicius rather than complete my usual player ratings.

The same website – although with different authors – has cast doubt on both of these Fulham players. Even if it reads like he's swallowed a thesaurus, I do enjoy Cam Ramsay's writing. He probably bleeds black and white and does a very good job in putting together succinct summaries of matches shortly after they concluded, which as I know, is by no means easy. There was plenty to agree with in his latest effort following the point we picked up against Wolves, until you got to the section on our Brazilian forward, who led the line in the continued absence of Aleksandar Mitrovic with a hamstring injury.

In a section entitled 'Vini ain't that guy,' he suggests that 'Carlos Vinicius is quite easily one of the most infuriating strikers we've ever had on our books'. The sentence is so plainly preposterous that I pondered whether it was a wind-up. The forward who incensed me the most was Kostas Mitroglou, who couldn't be bothered to either get himself fit or play for Fulham after the club had spent £12m expecting him to score the goals to save us from relegation. Rui Fonte was a lovely man, but proved unable to find the target regularly in the second tier never mind the top flight and he cost £9m from Braga. Those are just two suggestions.

Vinicius has already headed a famous winner against the only sanctioned side in the country to secure Fulham's first SW6 derby victory in seventeen years – an achievement that should have earned him an automatic place in the club's folklore rather criticism in my view. Cam then castigates Vinicius' lack of hold-up play, whilst simultaneously suggesting he should receive the freedom of Hammersmith and Fulham for his part in Manor Solomon's winner last weekend. How can he not be that guy if he is already in credit for two genuine moments of magic? Make it make sense.

Nobody would be foolish enough to suggest that Vinicius is the ideal replacement for Mitrovic – because you would struggle to find someone able to fill the Serbian's shoes even if you parted with the sort of money that persuaded Mike Ashley to allow our beloved number nine to leave Newcastle permanently in 2018. Recruitment is much tougher when you are shopping for a stand-in in the dog days of the summer transfer window, constrained by financial fair play, and the potential signings all know that they might not see much game time given that Mitrovic is very much the main man.

Cam, is of course, far from the only offender in hurling virtual brickbats at the Brazilian and maybe it is unfair of me to single him out for opprobrium. The socials have been full of criticism of him as a centre forward during our last two games – and fair play to the people who didn't delete their hot takes after he left Joel Veltman looking lost at the AMEX with a terrific turn after terrifically trapping Tim Ream's ball out from the back. The ball to release Manor Solomon was perfectly weighted as well – making a mockery of the idea that Vinicius wasn't suited to the rough and tumble of Premier League football.

He deserved to start on Friday night. It was always going to a be tough assignment against a resurgent Wolves outfit well coached by Julen Lopetegui, especially when he had to line up against Craig Dawson and Max Kilman. Dawson is exactly the sort of gnarly, streetwise centre half every top flight side needs and looks like one of the bargains of the winter window. Watching from the Hammersmith End, you couldn't fail to notice that the former West Ham defender was holding, pulling and impending Vinicius at every opportunity as Fulham held the ascendancy in the second period – all of it ignored by Michael Oliver and his assistants. Kilman, who learnt his craft at Motspur Park, is also tough to beat in the air and an excellent reader of the game.

Vinicius' biggest problem on Friday was a chronic lack of service. Wolves largely negated Fulham's threat in the first half by pressing and passing better than the Whites leaving the Brazilian dreadfully isolated up front. He did fashion one of the home side's only chances in the first period, bringing the first save of the evening out of Jose Sa from a brilliant Bobby Decordova-Reid run and cross, and might have won it at the death were it not for a fine reaction stop from the Wolves goalkeeper. On both occasions, his movement took him away from the two centre halves – and that ability to find space in a crowded area was crucial in connecting with Andreas Pereira's ball in last month against the other team in Fulham.

Playing centre forward in Marco Silva's system requires you to be physically strong, fit, link the play and be able to do the bread and butter things we expect of every striker. Doing it without a regular run of games in a foreign league is a tall order. Vinicius has already made a telling contribution to Fulham's finest campaign in the top flight since 2013. I don't expect everybody to agree with this post, but I felt disappointed in reading the condemnation of a player who is clearly giving his all for the cause.

I'll finish with a little bit from Fulham's past. There was once a centre forward, who in the eyes of the Craven Cottage regulars, was not pulling his weight and living off his former glories. Thanks got so bad during a season when he scored only nine times in 38 games that the home crowd urged the referee to send him off for dissent. This raised the heckles of his manager, who demanded that supporters back whomever wears the shirt for the duration of the ninety minutes, and insisted that the striker would prove more potent in front of goal in the following season. Rather than recruiting an alternative, Fulham kept faith with their misfiring number nine and 'Super Micky Conroy', for it was he, scored 21 league goals in 40 appearances as Micky Adams guided the Whites to promotion out of the Football League's basement. Think of the sulky Scot as the pre-Al Fayed equivalent to Bobby Zamora, who became one of Europe's most potent performers after a season of working with Roy Hodgson.

I'm not suggesting that Vinicius will ever reach the heights of Conroy, who famously found the net from the halfway line at Wycombe, or Zamora – whose exploits on that remarkable Europa League run still seem surreal – but he deserves better than a battering at the hands of the keyboard warriors.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/02/the-case-for-carlos-vinicius/

[WhiteJC]

Preview: Rovers Under-21s v Fulham Under-21s

Rovers Under-21s return to action today when Fulham Under-21s make the trip to Leyland in Premier League 2 Division 1.

Rovers will be out for revenge against this afternoon's visitors having suffered a 3-0 defeat in Surrey in the reverse fixture back in October.

Goals from Kristian Sekularac, Oliver O'Neill and Callum McFarlane secured the points for the hosts at Motspur Park and condemned Rovers to a second successive defeat to London opponents having previously lost by the same scoreline against Chelsea a week earlier.

As far as team news is concerned, Mike Sheron will definitely be without Jay Haddow, who will sit out following his sending-off against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out. Jake Batty and Sam Barnes remain sidelined, as do Lenni Cirino, Isaac Whitehall and Alex Baker.

Georgie Gent and Pat Gamble are back in contention having not featured in Sussex, whilst Adam Caddick is pushing for a start after getting the assist at the AMEX Elite Performance Centre.

The young Cottagers side achieved promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 last season after storming to promotion from Division 2, finishing top of the table by a clear 15 points, winning 20 of their 26 league outings.

Central to their success was an immense defensive record, with the west Londoners side boasting the lowest goals conceded in the league. With 64 goals netted, Fulham were also the joint-top scorers in Division 2 last campaign.

Defensively, they've been secure once again in the top tier of development football so far this term, with only Liverpool conceding less than the Londoners' 22 in 2022-23.

The Whites enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, but come into today's clash on the back of just one win in their last six games in all competitions.

That victory proved to be a morale-boosting Premier League Cup triumph against fellow west Londoners Queens Park Rangers, with Steve Wigley's side earning an emphatic 5-0 win at Motspur Park a week ago.

Luke Harris hit a brace in that game to take his tally to seven goals in his nine Under-21s games so far this season.

Kick-off is at 3pm this afternoon.



https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2023/february/26/preview--rovers-under-21s-v-fulham-under-21s/