A spell lies over Craven Cottage that guarantees a Fulham win whenever the Canaries make the journey South. Following Fulham’s failing form, some fans felt today would be the day that the curse was broken; unfortunately they were wrong.
Overshadowed by an appalling refereeing display was this October clash, which was just another entry into the book of frustrating Norwich losses. On paper, the teams seemed fairly equal – the home side having prolific goal scorer Ross McCormack alongside the seasoned Hugo Rodellega, supported by Brian Ruiz who impressed for Costa Rica in the summer.
Scott Parker once again proved to be an influential player when given the space, but was quiet for the first fifteen minutes where Norwich dominated. Some crisp passing movement circulating around the pivot point that is Wes Hoolahan, threatened Fulham’s defence. The pressure that was enforced produced corner after corner, however, each delivery lacked quality and regularly struggled to clear the first man. Norwich controlled possession, but couldn’t create any clear cut chances and so their efforts were worthless.
A lapse in concentration meant Fulham could counter-attack, and they made full use of a rare opportunity. Kavanagh drilled the ball across Ruddy’s goal, beyond various attempted blocks, and with enough conviction so that it nestled in the net. Sucker-punch.
From there onwards, Norwich’s sharpness significantly subsided – Johnson one of the main culprits, sloppily giving away possession. Grabban went missing out on the left wing (not for the first time), while Hoolahan saw less and less of the ball. We became jittery and hesitant. Wasteful and careless. Despite the best efforts of the valiant four thousand Norwich supporters, City’s rhythm fell away, as did the quality of football match. Fulham came closest again with a header that looked to have crossed the line – Jerome kept it out, but an action replay would certainly have been needed to make a conclusive judgement.
The second half sprung into action as striker Jerome twisted away from his man and hit the floor. A penalty? No – regardless whether there was contact or not (and there appeared to be very little), the ball had run too far away for the infringement to have made a difference. The linesman didn’t see it like that.
A brief conversation occurred with the man in the middle, who was keen to make himself the centre of attention, before the penalty was awarded. A gift to say the least.
So, who could shoulder the responsibility? Up steps Lewis Grabban. Seven goals so far this season; ready for the eighth. Crrraaasssh. Against the bar, before being cleared away. What a chance. Wasted. Was that justice served? Maybe – but the frustration remained for the Norwich faithful. Certainly no excuse for a missed penalty – unfortunately complacency seems to be part of Grabban’s game.
That riled the away end and intensified the game.
Hoolahan’s contribution ended prematurely as he picked up a painful-looking ankle injury. His replacement, Josh Murphy, was a class above many of the players on the pitch and came oh-so-close to stamping his mark. Cutting in from the left he whipped a scorching effort that curled and dipped and ricocheted off the crossbar for the second time. ‘Keeper Bettinelli may have got a touch to it – if so, a crucial one.
Johnson fired wide from range while various goalmouth scrambles said to Norwich that this just wouldn’t be their day, or evidently, fixture.
Referee Graham Salisbury weakly waved away late and dangerous tackles, while turning a blind eye to the blatant time wasting that had begun since the goal went in. His proud posturing shouted “look at me”, while the away fans shouted many far less savoury things back at him. He enjoyed the abuse. He enjoyed the attention. He enjoyed the fact that he could amplify the Norwich fans’ already frustrated tempers.
Norwich had 62% of possession but only managed to get a shot on target once in ten attempts. Norwich must make their dominance count otherwise avoidable losses like today will become too common.
Ruddy: 7 – Chiefly untroubled – could do nothing about the goal
Whittaker: 6 – offered support for Redmond, but sometimes lacked composure when in possession.
Martin: 7
Turner: 7
Olsson: 6 – Not hit his top form yet.
Redmond: 6 – Inconsistent – had the beating of left back all day, but delivery often lacked quality.
Johnson: 4 – Incredibly sloppy – awful first touch and passed to a white shirt too regularly.
Tettey: 6 – Struggled a little, but offered more than his companion in midfield. Some good defensive work.
Hoolahan: 5 – Failed to replicate the magic he produced for Ireland, and loses possession cheaply.
Grabban: 5 – Poor penalty, anonymous out wide, and didn’t hold ball up very well.
Jerome: 6 – Didn’t do a great deal – out-jumped by the towering defenders at Fulham’s disposal.
Hooper: 6 – looked eager to impress, but didn’t get many chances.
Josh Murphy: 7.5 – most creative player by some way – great vision to bring other players into play. Almost scored a beauty.
