Andy Johnson dedicated Fulham’s win at Queens Park Rangers to the travelling Fulham fans, who roared the team on to their second victory over Rangers this season at Loftus Road.
Johnson was paired with goalscorer Pavel Pogrebnyak in an attacking line-up selected by Martin Jol and the decision paid dividends as Fulham completely dominated the first half. Johnson, always a favourite with the Fulham fans, praised the travelling supporters for creating a special atmosphere behind the goal that Fulham attacked in the first half.
The fans were brilliant. They came out in their thousands and the atmosphere was brilliant, so all credit to them. They helped inspire a great team performance, although it got a little nervy towards the end, which can happen away from home, but we clung on.
Johnson was delighted to return to first team action after spending four weeks on the sidelines with a groin injury.
I was delighted to be back, and I felt really sharp. I’ve been working really hard in training to get my groin strong and the hard work has paid off. I was pleased with how I played for the first hour, but I probably tailed off a bit for the last 10-15 minutes before I was taken off, but it was a great team performance and I was delighted to have played a part for as long as I did.
he main thing was getting an away win though, and getting back-to-back results at this time of the season is really important. Hopefully we can build on that next Sunday.
The pint-sized striker almost had the dream return to the first team as he had the ball in the net after just three minutes. Johnson was surprised to see an offside flag rule out his flicked header.
I got a good connection on what was a great cross so I was a little bit disappointed for it to have been called offside because I think it was very close, but luckily we scored quite soon after that when Pavel took his goal really well. He’s fitted in well and got two in two now, which is great for him. He’s a great lad to have around the place and he’s been welcomed with open arms.
He’s very like an English striker. He comes in and works really hard in training, puts himself about and he’s up for the fight. He holds people off, he spins people and gets shots off all week in training. He scored a great goal last week and an important one for us today so he’s a top, top man and we’re all pleased for him.
Johnson is hoping that the derby victory can inspire a strong run-in to the end of the season for the Whites.
Definitely, we’ve had two positive results now, so hopefully we can build on these back-to-back wins and continue it next week. We’re at home, so we’ll certainly be confident. We’re playing well so we’re going to create chances, so hopefully we can build on these last two results against Wolves.
