That chant used to echo around Oakwell as Barnsley graced the highest etchelons of English football. In their own typical way, Fulham fans changed the words so charmingly to ‘It’s just like watching Fulham!’ – especially during that wonderful season that saw us romp to the First Division title.
As Fulham’s Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra took the field against the actual Brazilians, few would have thought that the United States would run one of the world footballing powers close.
They did much better than that. Had not been for some magic from Ronaldinho, the States might have been toasting a remarkable win. Both Demspey and Bocanegra scored as the Americans went down in a blaze of glory – in an entertaining 4-2 defeat. Demspey continued his fine start to the season by claiming the man of the match award and was suitably chuffed in this interview with the club’s official site.
The Texan told the press in the American dressing room afterwards that he felt the final score was misleading. We showed better than a 4-2 result,” he said. “A 3-2 score would have been just.” Bocanegra opened the scoring in the 21st minute, before Dempsey’s strike made it 2-2 with seventeen minutes to play. A trademark Ronaldinho free-kick put clear water between the teams and, as the US pushed forward for another equaliser, they conceded another.
Let’s hope that our American duo can continue their fine form at the JJB Stadium against Wigan come Saturday.
In related international action, Diomansy Kamara can book his ticket to the African Nations Cup after helping Senegal reach the finals in a 5-1 win over Burkina Faso. Kamara scored one of the Senegalese goals, with two other English-based players Henri Camara and El Hadji Diouf also netting. However, Hameur Bouazza won’t be joining his Fulham team-mate at the finals after Algeria failed to get through the qualifying stages.
