Alex Iwobi has demanded that Fulham find the consistency to deliver impressive victories like yesterday’s win over Newcastle United regularly.
The Nigerian international shone as Marco Silva’s side inflicted the Magpies’ first defeat of the campaign in an outstanding 3-1 win. Fulham imposed themselves on proceedings from the outset and Iwobi revealed to FFCTV after the final whistle that the squad were desperate to respond to the midweek League Cup exit at Preston in a positive fashion.
“We wanted to bounce back from the Cup defeat that we had and we thought let’s start on the front foot against a team that’s been unbeaten before this match. We aimed to do that and I thought we did, especially in the first half. We work on our link up play in training all the time; me, Antonee Robinson and Emile [Smith Rowe]. We try to make that triangle all the time, so when it’s coming off in games, it’s a plus for us. A big shout out to Antonee Robinson – even though he didn’t get on the ball, he took a couple of defenders [away] and made it easy for me to spot Emile, who made the run in behind.”
The midfielder felt Fulham let their standards slip at the start of the second half as Harvey Barnes reduced Newcastle’s arrears within thirty seconds of the restart, but praised the squad’s resilience as they ground out a big victory.
“We knew that they were going to come out fast in the second half, but we have to deal with it better. There was probably a touch of offside [about the goal] but we have to defend better and deal with it ourselves. We were able to bounce back and get another goal. We weren’t able to keep a clean sheet, but we’ll take the three points regardless.
We knew how hard we worked [in the] previous games. Staying mentally focused for the 95 minutes was the aim and we were able to do that for the rest of the game. We had people like Reiss, Reedy and Sander Berge came on and gave us that extra focus and energy that we needed. We were able to defend, but also able to get another goal that killed them game off. We talked about staying focused before the game and we made sure we did that today. Remaining consistent is the aim.”
Iwobi identified the psychological message behind the importance of beating Newcastle at the Cottage – as Fulham hope to continue the fine form that has underpinned their successful return to the top flight over the past two seasons.
“Our performances have been very good – I’d say apart from Ipswich – but it’s getting the results is the most important thing. It was a great performance and a great result. If we remain consistent, we’ll definitely finish better than we did last season. It sends a message to any other team that we can compete with anyone, teams who are going for the top four or the Champions’ League, that no one can come to our fortress and take any points from us.”
