Aaron Hughes praised Fulham captain Scott Parker’s sensational performance after the midfielder capped a superb display with the winning goal at Carrow Road this afternoon.
Rene Meulensteen’s squad might be the oldest in the division but there are times when the experience that brings can prove invaluable in the heat of a relegation battle. Parker’s composure at the heart of the Fulham midfield was matched by his team-mates who refused to buckle even after Gary Hooper’s early strike had threatened to extend their miserable run of form and the visitors were well worth the terrific winner that the former Tottenham midfielder struck from distance in the closing stages of an absorbing contest.
Scottie’s performance throughout, it almost deserved that goal. It’s the composure before that as well. As the ball came to him, there was his first touch to take it out of his feet. But Scottie has that. Not only can he get around midfield, but he can put the ball in the net, He was everywhere in midfield. He got all the second balls and the goal was a great strike.
Meulensteen had to ring the changes after Saturday’s defeat by Manchester City and some untimely injuries disrupted his plans, but Hughes was full of praise for those who made the step up to first-team duty. Fernano Amorebieta had possibly one of his best games since he moved to the England from Athletic Bilbao alongside the Northern Ireland international at the heart of the back four, whilst David Stockdale didn’t look out of place deputising for Maarten Stekelenburg and Pajtim Kasami curled home the equaliser as he returned to the midfield.
The lads who came in did their jobs and we’ve got a lot of experience in the side, and that helps when there are changes that need to be made. We’ve got some big games coming up, where we can pick up a lot of points – especially with the way we’ve been playing in recent weeks. Although some of the results haven’t gone for us, we’ve been very pleased with our level of play. And today we maybe didn’t get to play as much football as we have done in the last few weeks. It was more of a scrap. But we’re happy we could show a bit of character to grind out a result like that. I think we deserved to win. We stood up to them when we needed.
