Sone Aluko was delighted to score his first Fulham goal in the win at Preston North End yesterday that continued the Cottagers’ excellent start to the new campaign.
The former Hull forward showed his poacher’s instincts to nod home from four yards out after Alan Browne’s clearance had bounced back off Kevin McDonald and looped into the air. He told the club’s official website:
I just remember the big deflection – I think it was off Kevin McDonald. I just thought I need to get above him [the Preston defender] and if I get first contact on it, I’ll score. I was glad to get the goal, my first goal for Fulham in a competitive game. Once a striker scores it makes the next few goals easier, so hopefully I can go on a good little run now.
Aluko says that the strong side to the season has been just what Fulham were aiming for and shoring up last season’s leaky defence was a key part of that.
We couldn’t ask for a better start to the season. Home victory against a tough side and then to come here, away games in the Championship are always tough. We had a very good first half and they came out second half and put us under real pressure. We held on well, we defended well, which was something Fulham didn’t do last year very well.
I think overall we deserved the victory. I think we can say we were the better side today. I think for long periods in the game we controlled the game and we had good chances to score. I’ve not seen the two disallowed goals back so I’m not sure if they were offside or not, but in any game you’re going to ride your luck a little bit. I think good times make their own luck and we certainly did that today.
The victories have got Fulham’s confidence flowing ahead of a testing trip to Leeds United on Tuesday night, which Aluko knows will be a tricky encounter.
That will be another tough away game. Midweek game, away from home, they’ve lost their first two games so they’ll be right up for that, to try and put that right at home so it will be a similar game like today. We have to start very well, pass the ball well, move well, have the fluency that we’ve shown in the first two games and we’re very confident that we get the result.
