The Tanner Report; Fulham 1 Birmingham 0
It looked like another bad day at the Craven Cottage office heading for our first home goalless draw in many years then Josh Onomah popped up in the final embers of extra time to score the winner.
Without top scorer Alex Mitrovic red-carded retrospectively and not available till next Friday’s clash with Cardiff goal scoring was always going to be tough.
His replacement Bobby De Cordova-Reid is rich in talent but no target man nor a predatory striker. He is a hark-back to the fifties and sixties inside forward – Bryan Douglas, George Eastham, Peter Dobing – slight in build but with a lovely touch.
Once again Fulham’s best player was the industrious Harrison Reed.
His red head and pervasive and persistent presence all over the pitch reminds me of another midfielder of the 60s, Alan Ball.
Like that Duracell advert, Reed and Josh Oniomah keep on going to the end and it was their combo after a sumptuous dribble by De Cordova Reid which generated the Fulham winner.
The game which I watched on Fulham TV was played in an eerily quiet atmosphere
Whilst I missed the crowd who would have revived Fulham quicker in the second half and can subconsciously or consciously influence the referee.
I also wonder if their groans of disapproval might have affected Michel Hector who had a nightmare of a first half with two dreadful back passes to keeper Marek Rodek.
Fulham are now 9 points clear of the seventh side Derby so a play-off position is all but assured.
We are only 4 points behind WBA in automatic – whom we visit on the 14th July – so we are at least applying pressure as we have the better goal difference.
Had we not scored in the final minute of play more pressure would have heaped on Scott Parker’s young shoulders from fans and the owners.
My own view is that, whilst he has deficiencies, this is his first full season he deserves at least another season and we do not need the instability of another Head Coach.
