Fulham 3-0 Middlesbrough

A timely result on all sorts of levels, but most importantly, a convincing win reminded us that this team is not all about defending, creating stalemates and 0-0 draws, and that it can attack effectively.  It did so today, harrassing Middlesbrough to death, controlling the middle of the park with and without the ball, and scoring the goals to win at a canter.

Jimmy Bullard has dominated the press this week, and it was he who popped up in the area to ram home our first.  Dempsey on the right had crossed low for Zamora, whose shot on the turn had been saved but not held, and Bullard was alert and quick to the rebound.  He almost wet himself in happiness, dancing jigs of joy until Middlesbrough kicked off.  A big goal for the man, and for the team, whose early pressure had not resulted in anything tangible.  Paintsil had missed a glorious headed chance from a Konchesky corner, Johnson narrowly failed to score when clean through, and Simon Davies sent a curler whistling just wide of the far post.  We were attacking, and doing it well.

These games are always close though, and Boro’s impish wide players, Johson and Downing, always looked half threatening.  We would need a second goal, and, rather fortuitously, we got it early in the second half.  In our last two games Man City’s Richard Dunne and Stoke’s Danny Higginbotham have handled in the box against us but nothing has been given.  Today Anthony McMahon was harshly judged to have handballed in the act of clearing the ball.  Perhaps things do even themselves out after all.  Danny Murphy’s low spot kick was perfect and unsaveable, just inside the right hand post.

That man Murphy then made the third goal as the hour approached.  Finding himself in an unusually advanced position, Murphy spied Dempsey running into space in the area.  The pass was perfect, Dempsey had time to take two controlling touches, then rolled the ball past Turnbull in the Boro goal. 3-0, job done.

It was another good performance from the whites.  The back four did well, but we expect that now.  What differed today was the sheer menace the team showed in attack, with Johnson and Zamora in particular playing supremely well (individually and collectively).  Zamora is playing like Barcelona era Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) at times this season, but without the composure to make his good work count.  His buildup play is wonderful, his quick feet and eye for space are surprisingly good for a big man, and his overall play is extremely astute.  Sadly he is now too long without a goal, and this seems to be affecting him as he gets close, but the crowd stuck with him today, droning out his name for what seemed like the whole of the second half.   He and Johnson are not just good players, they’re first class workers and team players, which endears them to the crowd no end.  Johnson himself might have had a hat-trick today, but when the team bangs in three besides, there’s no sense complaining about what might have been.  These two were ably supported by the determined Dempsey and the spritely Bullard, with Davies and Murphy quietly doing a fine job as well in keeping the ball for long periods of time and passing Middlesborough out of contention.  Our manager has built a good, varied, and occasionally very interesting team.