Roy Hodgson raved about Andy Johnson’s finishing ability after the England striker’s double saw off Wigan Athletic at Craven Cottage.
Johnson showed just why Fulham had shelled out £10.5m for services this summer with goals either side of half time that settled the contest and saw him open his Craven Cottage account. The ex-Everton striker might have been fortunate not to be flagged offside for his first goal – which was also his hundredth in English league football – but Hodgson was full of praise for his all-round display.
“It was important for Andy tonight. All goalscorers need that first goal at their new club to get them kickstarted. That’s especially the case if you’re a big-money signing, which Andy was by Fulham’s standards. I’m delighted for him.
“But he didn’t just score the goals, he constantly helped our midfield players. Andy has that composure in front of goal that his pace, technique and low centre of gravity give him. He took his two goals extremely well – they were typical Andy Johnson goals.”
Hodgson was happy that Fulham recorded their third league win of the season after enduring a difficult run of form at the start of the month.
“When you’re playing a team in the same part of the table it’s important to get the win. We got the benefit of the early goal and played very well in the first 15 minutes but after that we didn’t play so well. We then lost our way a little bit and got sucked into a longer ball game than I would have liked.
“In the second half we got hold of the ball more and passed it well. We also defended better. We aggravated then scored and managed to keep them out. Two goals against a strong Wigan team is a good result for us. It gives us a bit of leeway and reflects a little bit better our start to the season as it’s given us 11 points from nine games.”
