Marco Silva insisted Fulham deserved more than the draw they got against Bournemouth in the top of the table Championship clash at Craven Cottage this evening.
The hosts dominated much of an absorbing contest but fell behind right at the start of the second half with Dominic Solanke finishing off a sensational Bournemouth move from the restart. Silva was bitterly disappointed with how his side conceded the goal, but hailed their powers of recovery to wrestle a point back at the death. He told his post-match press conference after the final whistle:
“A good game, two strong sides on the pitch. We didn’t change anything like we are doing so far. They came here with a different strategy, they changed a little bit the formation, to be a little bit more compact in that middle zone, the way they tried to build with four midfielders instead of three and just two players in the attack line.
“First five minutes, we took some time to adapt and after that we start to control the game. We knew before the match we could not lose the balance because they will be strong in that moment. First half was a bit more balanced with the chances that we created and I think we deserved more, we deserved a clear 2-0 lead in the score at half time.
The only thing I didn’t like, we lost for two seconds our focus and discipline in our organisation and they punished us. We cannot concede a goal like we conceded from the kick-off, our backline slept completely in the moment. But I’m proud really of the way they reacted. I’m really proud of our fans and how they helped us and pushed us.
What we did against a really strong side, the stats are there. We pushed them back, there are 10 players around their box and we created chances and chances to score. At the end we scored, we clearly deserved more from the game. We were the best team on the pitch.”
The Fulham head coach hailed the impact of his substitutes, Tom Cairney and Bobby Decordova-Reid, who added greater incisiveness to the Whites’ attacks in the final twenty minutes. Cairney created Fulham’s equaliser and Silva was delighted with how his changes made the difference.
“Both players made a big impact in the game. It is something we planned, Tom and Bobby made a big impact on the game and we expected that. Tom with his quality, Bobby to put a bit more fresh legs in that right side with Harry Wilson, and we started to create a lot of problems for them.”
Still can’t get over Parker getting a point from that game. Not sure why I feel so negatively about the guy but I do. What am I talking about? I know full well why I feel the way I do.
It was strange seeing him give both Silva and Boa a hug at the end of the game but barely offering Stuart Gray a handshake. What was that all about?
Kebano’s hamstring injury is a concern though as he would be a real miss in the form he is in.
We will lose Seri in January as he heads off to African Cup of Nations but, thankfully, DR Congo didn’t qualify so Kebano will stay.
I would like to know what is going on with Mawson and Kongolo. Mawson was a regular on the bench and earned a recall to the team but has since disappeared from view. I am guessing that he is injured yet again?
Kongolo -last I heard he was playing for the Under 23s but he seems to have gone missing. Another injury? Is this guy ever going to get a run?
Although we have dropped 6 points in last 3 games, the real positive is our centre backs scoring -something we have missed for so long. I really hope they can get on the end of a few more.
I was wishing Kebano would score last night after what Parker had done to him putting him out on loan how ironic that would have been yet again overall we were better than them Wilson caused them problems some one who Parker perhaps would not have signed pleased with little Reedy again the little terrier also like the previous guy what has happened to Kongolo are we ever going to see this guy play likewise Mawson is Chalabah and Quina fit no info from club about these guys is very vague lastly I thought the Referee last night had a poor game our guys were there just. to be kicked and this referee never did nothing about it also what about the blatant penalty he did not give i am not a referee critic as I myself used to referee at different levels and marks were awarded for interpretation of rules and performance etc this guy would have got 1 out of 10 last night shameful let’s hope we can win against Luton every game now will be a tough one
If only the ref had been as free with awarding penalties as he was with yellow cards then Mitro could have had his revenge on Parker. Didn’t see any interaction between those two after the game. Maybe I missed it.
Let’s hope Kebano’s hamstring is ok as we would definitely miss him. Presumably we will see more of TC in January when Seri is away.
Kebano Fulham’s Player of the match. Cavalho shows he is a good player but has a lot to learn against the better teams. Personally I would have started with Cairney. We will loose Seri for the African cup in January. The team gave 100%