Smile

This isn’t something we’ve seen all that much.

Huzzah!

Inflatable magic

I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder, but consider the facts:

away games where Toby has not had an inflatable toy with him and we haven’t won: millions

away games where Toby has had an inflatable toy with him and we have won: two

You can’t argue with that. It’s a fact.

From left to right: new acquaintance Sue (with Fulham USA tshirt), a slightly demonic Toby, Anna.

!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man City 2-3 Fulham !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ha!

A second consecutive away win (!) and we’re still fighting.  And it was absolutely deserved.

Fulham started well, passing well and pressing City back.  An early chance fell to Dempsey, whose low strike was expertly saved by the impressive Joe Hart.  Disaster was moments away though:  the usually excellent Stalteri lost the ball and Simon Ireland, via a big deflection, sent the ball looping over Kasey Keller.  A huge setback.

And if that was bad, things got worse when Benjani found space between four defenders and side-footed home Vassell’s cross to make it 2-0.  Fulham were playing well but conceding easily.  At this point relegation was all but confirmed, particularly with Bolton winning at Spurs and Birmingham up on Liverpool.

The half-time stats were painful: 10 Fulham shots; 2 City shots.  City 2-0 up.  Excruciating stuff.

We seemed to be going through the motions in the second half, but Lady Luck finally decided to pay us some attention.  The eccentric Diomansy Kamara found himself well placed in the City box, but dithered and found the road ahead closed.  Unperturbed, he found a way to shoot anyway, and, extraordinarily, the ball squirted through Joe Hart’s legs and nestled in the net.  Game on!

A soft penalty really woke us up.  A deep ball into the area and Nevland was hauled down.  He may have been fortunate in that this tangle looked worse than it might have been, but a penalty was awarded, and parity was attainable.  Danny Murphy, as good a penalty taker as you’ll find, fluffed his effort, Hart saving well, but Murphy got another go and tapped home the rebound.  Fulham Nation mopped its brow and prepared for the impossible.

City had been living on the edge for some time.  Their makeshift defence was pushing up and a through ball really did seem on.  We nearly had it once or twice, but interceptions thwarted our desperate attacks.  Then Danny Murphy slotted through again, and that man Kamara strode on and buried his chance over Hart’s right shoulder like Geoff Hurst sealing the World Cup in ‘66.

Pandemonium.  The impossible was really happening, and after months and months of road trip futility Fulham had pulled of a second consecutive away win.

Heroes?  Roy Hodgson has masterminded (ha, what a phrase!) two away wins now and deserves praise for getting the team playing football again.   He seemed to have found a winning partnership at Reading, with McBride and Healy linking very well, but today they weren’t playing well.  So Kamara and Nevland were introduced and turned the game on its head.  Teams don’t often go to Manchester City and win, especially teams like us who don’t win away, and especially after going 2-0 down.  This was crazy, desperate football, but it kept this stupid season alive and almost brings us within touching distance of our rivals.  How about that?

Man City 2-3 Fulham

I don’t even know what to say. Seriously, I’m speechless and the words are not coming to me. Does this give us hope? Or is this totally Fulhamish, just prolonging the inevitable? Either way, a huge win today.

OK, all you Diomansy Kamara and Danny Murphy critics, let’s hear you today. Kamara with a brace, one in injury time for the win and Murphy with a goal and an assist in the winning goal.

Truly, unbelievable!

Here we go then

What a day.   Today it could be all over, or we could claw back some lost ground, or something in between.

Yikes.

On a lighter note, did you see that Jari Litmanen’s out again?   This time he has hurt his ear.   Anyway.