Olly reviews another successful Fulham away day …
Marek Rodak: Cardiff’s efforts on target were weak for the most part but Rodak was assured and did really well to close down Collins after he got through one on one, he made himself big and stayed on his feet to ensure he could deflect away Collins’ attempted chip, a big save at 0-0. 7
Neco Williams: Another solid display from Neco but my concerns which I’ve voiced in previous games are still there. Like many full backs in the game these days he looks brilliant going forward but slightly suspect at the back. It’s something I’ve noticed almost every game so far, he is taken on too easily and I have no doubt it’s something he’ll be working on. Ultimately I think that’s what led Silva to replace him with Tete towards the end. 6
Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream: Little between these two here, I thought they both did really well with the ball at their feat after a few suspect moments in recent matches and they stood firm against a physical Cardiff side who threatened to find a leveller in the closing stages of the game. Both put in some good challenges and won their 50/50’s. Tosin did have a worrying moment as the ball bounced straight over his head to provide Collins with his one on one opportunity but he also showed off his passing range with a delightful ball over the top to Wilson who couldn’t quite sort his feet out. 7
Joe Bryan: Many people including myself have been wanting to see a bit more of Bryan this season. After his play off heroics against Brentford it’s a shame that he’s faded away slightly but he had a chance here to prove his worth. I felt he played it safe at times when there could have been opportunities to push forward instead but this is probably why he didn’t find himself out of position on too many occasions, something that we see regularly with Robinson. I personally believe Robinson is our best option but this is mainly down to his pace, aside from that I don’t think there’s a lot in it. 6
Nathaniel Chalobah: I was very surprised to see Chalobah return to the starting line up after Seri’s dominant display on Wednesday night and whilst we’ll never know if we still would’ve won with Seri instead of Chalobah, I do feel we lacked a creativity throughout the entire game which Seri would have provided. Especially in Cairney’s absence. His physicality is most likely why he got the nod and it did help us in the middle of the park but he struggled to kickstart any decent attacking opportunities and found himself losing possession on a number of occasions. 5
Harrison Reed: The type of player you don’t always notice but you’d notice if he wasn’t there. He’s had a bit more freedom again in the last couple of games with Cairney out injured and Seri or Chalobah playing the deep role but the way Cardiff played meant he couldn’t really find his way into advanced areas, either because they had so many men behind the ball in the first half or because they pegged us back for large parts of the second. He was there to link up play and get his challenges in throughout. 7
Fabio Carvalho: Always looking to make things happen and this was no different even if it didn’t quite come off for him. Every time he picks up the ball he looks to turn and progress with it which is so refreshing. He’s not afraid to get stuck in either which was especially important against a feisty Cardiff outfit. 7
Harry Wilson: Provider once again, after a barren spell Wilson grabbed his 12th assist of the campaign. He still wasn’t in the form we saw him in earlier in the season but he played fairly well and there were large parts of both halves where all our attacking play was coming through him linking with Williams, Mitrovic and Carvalho down the right. It was a great cross towards the back post which Mitrovic gladly nodded past Smithies in the Cardiff net. 7
Aleksandar Mitrovic: Another game, another goal. That’s 34 for Mitrovic now as he works his way ever closer to Wittingham’s tally of 42. It seemed inevitable that he would score yesterday, he now has six goals in seven games against the bluebirds. He was handled well by the Cardiff backline and wasn’t given a decent chance on goal aside from this one. Once again he played deeper and even wide at times to link up the play and he’ll to create promising moments for others. 7
Bobby Decordova-Reid: Decordova-Reid struggled yesterday and looked tired from quite early on. He’s played a lot of football in the past few weeks and after a lack of playing time prior to the Stoke game it seems as though his recent run could be catching up with him. A week with no midweek game will hopefully allow some much needed recovery time for the entire squad. 5
Substitutes:
Josh Onomah: Sadly there was no work of art from the paintbrush of Josh Onomah on this occasion, he wasn’t given much time to make that happen and he struggled to make an impact yesterday when he came on. 5
Kenny Tete: His first appearance since the signing of Williams, partly due to injury but also due to Williams’ good performances. It was good to have him back and he shored up the right back position where Williams had been successfully taken on progressively more throughout the game. 6
Ivan Cavaleiro: He was Silva’s final sub yesterday which didn’t given him too much time to contribute, I’d have liked to see him earlier after an impressive performance off the bench on Wednesday and with Decordova-Reid struggling to make an impact I felt Cavaleiro could have done just that. 5
I fully concur about Chalobah who in my view has failed to impress. After Mitro, Seri would be the next name of the team sheet. I cannot understand why he now does not play regularly. Also agree Williams is terrific going forward but very suspect defensively. Tete a better defender. Williams is the better offensively.
Fair ratings. I do mot think Bobby Decodova Reed is a natural wide player, but he is very versatile. I would add my weight that Seri should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Chalobah has shown me nothing and is worth no more than a place on the substitutes bench. Williams look more of a wide player to me as he very suspect defensively no matter we grinded out a result and 3 points was the important outcome. Blackburn at home next Saturday and let’s hope we can rediscover our top form. We do not want another Huddersfield performance
First of all, Cardiff are thugs and they were aided and abetted by the worst display of refereeing that I have seen this season. From the very first scything down of Carvalho to the forearm smash on Cavaleiro, they were allowed to get away with GBH.
As for the blatant handball in the second half, the referee and linesman should be suspended for not seeing that. Total disgrace!
Rodak should also be given praise for the decisive way he dealt with crosses in the second half.
Joe Bryan-he is a shadow of what he was two seasons ago. Another opportunity to impress that he, once again, squandered-and I am his greatest advocate.
I think you have been very lenient in assessing Chalobah’s performance. For me, he was absolutely dreadful. Having listened to a couple of post match interviews by Marco Silva, I gather that he selected Chalobah because of his height against a very tall Cardiff side and, also, because he felt we needed fresh legs after the midweek game. Either way, he just offers nothing and is a liability with the number of times that he gives the ball way or gets caught in possession.
My Man of the Match was Tim Ream who was magnificent throughout
Bobby Decordova Reid -always works hard and gives 100% but just lacks quality and, whether tiredness was the cause or not, he is another who struggles to create and is guilty of giving the ball way on too many occasions.
The players get two days off-then have 4 days to prepare for Blackburn. I am really hoping that Kebano, Seri and Cairney are all back in contention and Chalobah is sidelined.
At this stage of the season, the points are what matter and we got the 3 yesterday in yet another hard fought away victory that, two seasons ago, we would not have been capable of churning out.
Does anybody know why Kebano was not in the squad? I assume he was just being given a rest. Let’s hope he’s back and refreshed for the Blackburn game.
What a waste of space Challah is,constantly caught in possession and as for passing,forget it.Very lucky boy to be 0icked for this club,no chance of him being here next season.i like williams going forward but find him one paced getting back to defend,if pushed its Tete for me just as good going forward and better at defending.
Looking to next year and hoped for life back in Premier League, is there a role for Tim Ream as a centre of a back three?…. to be the voice of experience and example of commitment that would utilise his strengths whilst a new, tall, fast and well-built left centre back is brought in?
As we saw in the Huddersfield game with the non penalty awarded the officials are pretty ordinary. One earlier though it went our way, occurred when Dennis Odoi was legally shoulder charged off the ball but was given as a foul.