Fulham’s reserves were held to a 1-1 draw at Coventry City yesterday afternoon.
Former Fulham forward Alan Cork, now charge in Coventry’s second string, switched to a front three but the hosts couldn’t force a winner. Former Arsenal striker Graham Barrett came the closest to delivering a victory but Fulham held firm to claim a point.
The Irishman looked sharp from the first minute when he forced Ricardo Batista into a fine save from a powerful volley. And Barrett went close again on the half hour mark when he worked the keeper before Andy Morrell raced in on to the loose ball from Batista’s parry but lifted his effort over the bar.
He finally found the back of the net four minutes into an otherwise disappointing second half with a clinical finish to a delightful three man move. Eddie Johnson started the build up by lifting the ball into the box where Neil Wood juggled it a couple of times before flicking it across to Barrett who smashed it into the back of the net from close range.
But four minutes later Fulham took advantage of a mix-up at the back between goalkeeper Jonathan Tuffey and full-back Liam Nicell who failed to clear his lines, allowing Matty Collins to nip in and drill home at the near post.
“I thought we did quite well in the first half when we passed the ball well on a difficult surface, and I thought we could have been two or three goals up,” said Cork.
“We were poor in the second half but having said that, we scored a super goal. We tried a different system because we need to score some goals in the first team – we had a few chances but unfortunately haven’t scored again. But we looked quite lively and had a bit of pace and I am sure the goals will come.
“Andy Morrell needs games because he hasn’t had many since his return from injury and Graham Barrett is working hard, so they have all done OK. Baz could have had two or three in the first half and the keeper made a couple of good saves.”
COVENTRY RESERVES (4-3-3): Tuffey; A. Hall, Cooney (Wall 84), Whing, Nicell; Webb, Neil Wood (Davis 87), Pead; Johnson (Reid 87), Barrett, Morrell. Subs (not used): Ogarro, Sidhu.
FULHAM RESERVES (4-5-1): Batista; Lawless, Buari, Watkins, Milsom; Collins, McKinlay, McDermott, Doherty, Timlin; Ehui (L. Hall 74). Subs (not used): Davidson, Moncur, Kareem, Hudson-Odoi.
