Cast your mind back to early October and Coventry. Sheltering from the rain in Coventry Building Society Arena, a seething Marco Silva castigates his side for unforgiveable errors and immediately apologises to a sizeable travelling support that had just seen Fulham surrender a half-time lead to lose 4-1 in a shambolic second half. Questions were asked about whether Fulham were flat track bullies and if this team had the stomach to sustain a promotion push.
It seems incredible to think that saw that shocking second half, Fulham are unbeaten away from home. Seven of those nine fixtures have finished with victories and there have been two draws – against Preston and Luton Town. Some have been sparkling performances – the seven-goal thrashings handed out at Blackburn Rovers and Reading spring to mind – but a few more have been the sort of gritty successes upon which promotion is built. Silva insisted his side needed to go back to basics after the Coventry debacle and his side responded with three consecutive clean sheets on the road.
A dependable defence is vital in any division and, although Fulham’s new boss has placed the accent on adventurous football, they have been able to keep things tight at the back. Marek Rodak replaced Paulo Gazzaniga after the Argentine’s horror ball from the back sparked the collapse at Coventry and the Slovakian academy graduate put together a run of three shut outs away from home. Helped by the strong understanding between Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream in front of him, Rodak’s return restored a sense of serenity between the posts and stiffened Fulham’s spine at a time when steel was called for.
In those tight and nervy encounters some experience of what is needed in a promotion race can come in handy. Rodak was one of the unsung heroes of Fulham’s 2019/20 campaign, when he delivered a string of steady displays having stepped up to replace Marcus Bettinelli, whilst the veteran Ream knows all about winning his way out of the second tier – as the American is now bidding for his third promotion to the Premier League. Tom Cairney’s return to fitness has served to make the engine room a little more streetwise, as well as sprinkling some class and creativity, whilst Neeskens Kebano has been rewarded with his longest run in the Fulham first team following some fine outings along the left flank.
Some of Fulham’s football has been sensational – and with the wizardry of Harry Wilson, a proven performer at this level, alongside the exuberance of Fabio Carvalho – who already looks a cut above the Championship at the tender age of nineteen – it is been no surprise that the goalscorer extraordinaire Aleksandar Mitrovic looks set to smash most of the records in a superb season of goalscoring. Perhaps the most impressive of Fulham’s wins came when they were without Wilson and Mitrovic and fought their way back from the worst possible start at Stoke with Brazilian striker Rodrigo Muniz bagging a brace.
Where Fulham haven’t been able to simply outscore the opposition, they have had to rely on both patience and resilience. There’s no doubt that teams have adopted a more cautious and cagey approach to facing Fulham at home – fully aware of what the Whites can do if they are given the space in which to operate. Edgy victories like the one in south Wales yesterday followed a blueprint we had already seen at Hull City – where the visitors had to weather a few periods of pressure from their hosts and be clinical when the moment presented itself.
That might yet be the way Silva’s ambitious gameplan evolves in the Premier League – where the swashbuckling style of Slavisa Jokanovic was just too gung-ho. Despite Fulham’s stranglehold on the top spot, the Portuguese head coach would doubtless caution that this is no time to be getting carried away. As he implied yesterday, nothing is won in February – unless you are Steve Wigley’s under 23s. It seems a while since the Whites have hit top gear on the road, but they are still picking up precious points. That in itself is the hallmark of champions.
Yup. Who would of thought after Coventry shambles.
Yes. Away form is crucial.
We’ve had a couple of moderate games. But we are winning when not playing particularly well. That’s a positive sign.