There was a time in the 1990s when Michael Jordan seemed to be able to control basketball games through sheer force of will. When trouble loomed Jordan would demand the ball and take care of business. Everyone knew it was going to happen, nobody could stop it. The entire game revolved around his actions, his successes, his brilliance. It was wonderful.
Brede Hangeland is a different kind of athlete, but he has an awesome *something* that can make us gasp. I was reminded of Michael Jordan as time ran out today. Spurs had four forwards on the pitch and were throwing the kitchen sink at us. A long ball into the dark night sky, then, almost in slow motion, the scene sets itself: Hangeland, ten yards away from a Spurs player, breaks towards the ball. He’s going to win this header. He knows it, we know it, the Spurs player knows it. It’s just going to happen. Sure enough he runs, soars, then thumps his header far away into touch. Another attack repelled. Another moment towards glory.
Aaron Lennon is a tricky bugger. Having flown past John Paintsil he tore into the penalty area at high speed. Hangeland had to react, had no margin for error, and had to judge a fast moving situation in a fraction of a second. Lennon whizzed towards goal, Hangeland threw himself at Lennon’s feet, the ball crashed out for a corner. What a tackle! What a player!
He was at it all game. High balls were returned to the midfield with emphatic headers. Through balls were retrieved by long limbs. Attacks through the middle of our defence were discouraged by his very presence. What a game he had out there.
You need performances like this if you’re going to beat the league’s in-form team. You need a bit of luck, but that alone won’t do it. You need a plan, and you need to be good. We had all that today and deserved our win.
Early pressure was exciting, but nothing came of it. Johnson squirmed behind the Spurs defence, left and right, but his final ball was not met by a white shirt. Dempsey, starting at last, tested Gomes with a long range scorcher, a shot that required a fine save to keep it out. Dempsey’s day would keep getting better. Gomes’ would soon be ruined.
Simon Davies – liberated on the left – cut inside and whipped a low ball into the box. Johnson stretched but could not make contact, but somehow Gomes’ hands did not react to the ball’s bounce, and the cross hit him on the chest and spun into the net. There will be no softer goals at the Cottage this year, but this piece of luck gave us the belief we needed to beat this Spurs side, and for that reason was a vital, vital moment.
Spurs poured forward but lacked penetration, and Fulham continued to play lucid, cerebral football. Half-time brought a roar of appreciation from the excited crowd. At the break Harry Redknapp added Roman Pavlyuchenko and Aaron Lennon to the Spurs lineup, signalling serious attacking intent; we were going to need a second goal.
Andy Johnson got it. A Konchesky corner – Bullard had been relieved of his duties – found Simon Davies on the far post, Davies’ first header was blocked but the ball bounced back to him so he won it again, the ball bobbled in the six yard box and Johnson pounced and smashed a left-footed shot through the close range crowd and gloriously into the net. 2-0! 2-0! Unbelievable.
Spurs carried on attacking, but Fulham had more chances. Dempsey was marauding all over the right-half of the pitch, rampaging even. His touch was as sure as we’ve seen from him, his passing crisp and accurate, his drive… if Hangeland was the team’s backbone and Murphy its guiding hand, then Dempsey and Zamora (who directed play from the front with skill and energy) were the heartbeat today. This wasn’t just effort, it was pure class. The pair of them proved points emphatically. Long may it continue.
Jermaine Jenas shrugged off Jimmy Bullard and made a late goal for Frazier Campbell, but we knew that was coming: the big thing was stopping a second. This we did, through a collective effort that was a tribute to every player and to the manager. You don’t defend like that without some serious coaching. You don’t beat the league’s in-form team without some serious coaching. Superb stuff. Absolutely superb.
