THE GREAT ESCAPE II
Former Fulham boss Hodgson backs Parker to beat the drop
FULHAM have the momentum in the relegation battle and, in their position, a point and clean sheet away from home are not to be sniffed at. Still, it was hard to shake the sense that this was a missed opportunity after what had gone on during the 90 minutes and with what is yet to come. Fulham came to Selhurst Park, totally dominated and at times had Crystal Palace hanging on. Yet the reward for their efforts was a mere goalless stalemate as they failed to drag Brighton and Newcastle as close to danger as they could have done. Yes, every little helps — but sometimes all three points are required. This was one such occasion, partly because of how much control Fulham enjoyed and the number of chances they created. They really should have taken at least one of them. But also because, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City next up, things are unlikely to get much easier for the side who remain third from bottom. Scott Parker admitted this was a ‘missed opportunity’ but overall preferred to accentuate the positive. ‘Momentum is firmly with us,’ he said. ‘Of the last 15 games, we’ve lost three. We have unbelievable quality. It’s now about trying to get that to click in key moments. I’d be more concerned if we weren’t creating chances.’ There was encouragement from his opposite number Roy Hodgson, too, who masterminded Fulham’s great escape in 2008. ‘Absolutely,’ he answered emphatically when asked if his old club can stay up. Against his former England manager, Parker’s side showed why they can be hopeful of avoiding the drop but also why there are no guarantees they will be able to exploit the wobbles of their nearest rivals. They confidently bossed proceedings in the fashion of an established Premier League side and prevented Palace having a single attempt on target. Keeper Alphonse Areola was only briefly threatened by a miskick by team-mate Joachim Andersen. But a lack of cutting edge, an issue for much of the campaign, stopped Fulham getting what they fully deserved once again. Defender Andersen, who turned out to be one of their biggest threats, was off target with two first-half headers and a second-half free-kick, fired another long-range effort straight at Vicente Guaita and was denied by a brilliant last-ditch Gary Cahill block. His centre back partner Tosin Adarabioyo headed at Guaita, too, and Josh Maja fired two efforts off target either side of seeing his close-range header brilliantly kept out by a reflex save from Guaita. Ruben Loftus-Cheek blasted a spectacular volley off target and, at the death, Ademola Lookman met the impressive Harrison Reed’s cross but also got his contact wrong, sending the ball inches past the far post. By contrast, Palace struggled badly again to create chances — and this time there was no late drama, like Christian Benteke’s winner at Brighton last midweek, to mask the issue. Palace’s approach led to questions about their lack of ambition, but Hodgson countered: ‘When it wasn’t happening (in attack), with the defensive organisation and the desire of the players, we had to make certain if we weren’t going to win the game we weren’t going to lose it.’ CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Guaita 7.5; Ward 6, Kouyate 7, Cahill 7.5, Van Aanholt 7; Riedewald 7, Milivojevic 7, Eze 6.5 (McCarthy 79min); Ayew 6, Benteke 6.5, Townsend 6.5. Subs not used: Butland, Dann, Kelly, Mateta, Batshuayi, Mitchell, Hannam. Booked: Milivojevic. Manager: Roy Hodgson 6.5. FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Areola 6; Tete 7, Andersen 8, Adarabioyo 7.5, Aina 7 (Robinson 46, 6.5); REED 8, Zambo Anguissa 6.5 (Mitrovic 73, 6); Decordova-Reid 6 (Cavaleiro 66, 6.5), Loftus-Cheek 7, Lookman 7; Maja 6.5. Subs not used: Fabri, Ream, Lemina, Bryan, Onomah, Kongolo. Robinson.
Scott Parker 6.5. Anthony Taylor 6.5.