After one of the most dismal performances I have seen from Fulham in a single half, it seemed impossible that The Whites would be able to pull off such a great result, let alone win the game. The first half was clearly Newcastle’s, with Fulham’s rigid and incoherent formation allowing Newcastle long periods of possession, which they could have yielded a greater half-time lead from had it not been for some good saves from David Stockade, and to be quite frank, a slice of luck.
Newcastle used the ball well, and I was particularly impressed by striker Leon Best, who played a free role behind Ameobi, finding space to receive the ball time and time again. Ben Arfa and Jonas Gutierrez tested Stockdale from long-range, and a defensive mix-up between the goalkeeper and centre-back Phillipe Senderos almost resulted in what would have been a rather embarrassing own goal. Eventually, Newcastle’s pressure paid off when Danny Guthrie was allowed too much time 20 yards out to line up a ferocious drive, that this time, Stockdale had no chance of dealing with.
Sidwell had to be withdrawn due to injury just prior to the break, and this actually turned out to be a blessing for Fulham as his replacement, Johnson, came to the field with immediate effectiveness. His running in behind the defence was something that revolutionised the attack in the second half and, with the sort of performance he contributed, you can understand why he is being chased by relegation candidates QPR and Blackburn.
The start of the second half saw the introduction of Chris Baird for Ruiz in the centre of midfield. Ruiz, who is clearly a highly talented individual, seemed out of his depth in the first half, with Newcastle’s pressing tactics allowing him very little time on the ball. He also lacks massively defensively, and when he dropped into midfield after Sidwell’s injury it was clear that there is no way we can afford to play him there alongside Murphy. Baird on the other hand offered a platform in midfield for us to go on and develop attacks from.
Zamora’s performance also drastically improved after the introduction of Johnson. There was a lot of criticism aimed at the front-man during the first half, however I believe it was unjust to single out a player who was singled out alone up-front on the pitch. He was far too isolated and was defended in numbers by the Newcastle defence. The three behind him, Duff, Dempsey and Ruiz were interchanging position far too much and not giving him sufficient support.
The reversion to 4-4-2 in the second half was a major factor in the improvements. It was a reversion to Hodgson’s side, with Riise at left back the only player who wasn’t at the club during Hodgson’s tenure. I’m not saying we completely used Hodgson style tactics, but the personell clearly were more comfortable in and out of possession, knowing where they should be positioned and where their duties lay. Fulham went more direct, with Johnson creating confusion in behind the defence and with Baird and Murphy playing balls over Newcastle’s particularly high-line, we started to give the opposition something to think about. 4 goals were scored by fulham in 16 minutes just after the restart. However, Ben Arfa managed to pull it back to 4-2 after squeezing a shot beyond Stockdale at his near post. For me, Stockdale shouldn’t have been beaten from that position, but it could perhaps be said that the ball moved at pace through a number of bodies in front of him. Fulham sat back as the game wore on and it looked like Newcastle could have perhaps pulled another goal back. However, Dempsey managed to grab his first Premier League hat-trick on the break with a few minutes remaining, putting the result beyond doubt.
In terms of Fulham performances – Dempsey will take the plaudits, and rightly so after his hat-trick – however, the introduction of Johnson, with his ability to get in behind a defence, and Baird who gave us a better platform in the centre of midfield, really changed the game. Baird has been out of favour since the arrival of Martin Jol as manager, but the Northern Irishman really proved his worth sitting in front of the back four, breaking up the play and springing attacks. For that reason, I make him Saturday’s man of the match.
Martin Jol described the first half as ‘Brixton’ and the second as a ‘Jamician Holiday’ – a pretty apt description of a real game of two halves.
