It is difficult to succinctly surmise the emotions of the Fulham faithful following Saturday’s draw at Barnsley. There was the obvious anger at another unfathomable refereeing decision that saw the hosts given a penalty for an infringement that nobody has been able to identify. Tosin Adarabioyo, who was shoved away in the aftermath by referee Tim Robinson, appeared to have been fouled himself by Carlton Morris, but was penalised in any case. There was relief when Harry Wilson finally brought the league leaders level with a beautiful finish into the top corner and frustration after the Welsh winger had inexplicably headed the simplest of chances wide in stoppage time.
Ultimately, the dropping of points against a side scrapping for their lives at the wrong end of the table shouldn’t unduly damage Fulham’s promotion prospects. The Whites still hold a twelve point cushion over Bournemouth, who beat Derby over the weekend and will fancy another three points against struggling Reading tomorrow. But it is a measure of how much of a winner Marco Silva is that when the Sky cameras cut to the Fulham dugout to capture his reaction to Wilson’s equaliser they found him castigating his players for continuing their celebrations rather than speeding back to the centre circle to commence the search for a second goal.
The disappointment of the draw with Barnsley, who were disciplined and defiant, added to the sense that Silva’s silky football can be nullified by opponents who are willing to sacrifice some of their own attacking instincts and put men behind the ball. It took the visitors an awfully long time to test Brad Collins despite dominating the possession statistics, with Aleksandar Mitrovic well marshalled by the Barnsley centre halves, and a frustrated Fabio Carvalho on the periphery for far too long. Discussions about the length of the grass at Oakwell or a jam-packed schedule are immaterial to me, Fulham should have been much more incisive and, had they taken any of a significant number of early chances, they would not have been left at the mercy of sub-standard officiating.
Contemplating tomorrow night’s trip to the Hawthorns, it seems scarcely believable that the Baggies were in third place when they visited Craven Cottage back in September. The Valerian Ismael experiment proved to be a frustrating failure, with the newly installed head coach unable to repeat his heroics with Barnsley, and Albion have only just shown the shown of tenacity expected under his successor, Steve Bruce. West Brom’s alarming winter of discontent has left them seven points adrift of a play-off spot having played a game more than most of the top six and they are badly in need of a strong end to the season if they are re-enter the promotion picture.
They grabbed the unlikeliest of points with a stirring late comeback – sparked by another generous penalty award – against in-form Huddersfield on Friday night but languishing in fourteenth position is not where the Baggies wanted to be at this stage of the campaign. Bruce’s first win came against Hull City and, while he will have been pleased with the manner of their fightback against Huddersfield, it is a run of victories that will be needed to seriously threaten the play-off spots. Further cheer was provided by the sight of veteran striker Andy Carroll, a familiar Fulham scourge, breaking his Albion duck just in time for the Londoners’ visit. The former Newcastle, Liverpool and West Brom forward could be rewarded with a start tomorrow night – possibly at the expense of Callum Robinson.
Silva has largely stuck by his tried and tested eleven for much of this season, eschewing rotation in favour of keeping the faith with a winning formula. Wholesale changes seem unlikely as Fulham have two and a half weeks off after their assignment in the Midlands, although the head coach has admitted he will make a late call on the fitness of Tim Ream and Neeskens Kebano. The American centre half was in the wars at Oakwell, having picked up a dead leg in clearing off the line from Morris at the end of the first half, and coming off worse following a stoppage time clash of heads. Michael Hector would be the favourite to replace the veteran in the starting line-up, although Ream did participate in a recovery session at Motspur Park yesterday.
Given that Neeskens Kebano reported stiffness in his hamstring on Friday, it is unlikely that the Congolese winger, who has been in such good form this season, will be risked with such a short turnaround between matches. Bobby Decordova-Reid, rather wasteful in Yorkshire at the weekend, will likely line up on the left again, but Tom Cairney – who offered some much needed creativity as a half-time substitute – must be a serious contender to start again in the middle of the park.
One of the most commendable aspects of this remarkable Fulham season has been how Silva’s side have responded to setbacks. Tuesday offers another chance to underline their credentials as Championship winners, even if Silva and the players themselves keep downplaying their commanding position at the top of the table. Fulham prefer to do their talking on their pitch and they will need to up the intensity in order to complete the double over the Baggies, who will certainly be out to prove a point or two of their own.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Rodak; Williams, A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Ream; Reed, Cairney; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Carvalho; Mitrovic. Subs: Gazzaniga, Tete, Hector, Chalobah, Seri, Cavaleiro, Muniz.
