FEE FLY FO FUN
Vin’s new giant can end Burnley blues 2
WHILE mayhem erupted all around him after David Fofana bundled in his second goal of the game, Vincent Kompany was unmoved.
No fist-pumping charge down the line from the Clarets boss, though no one would have blamed him as his side secured a precious point.
While Fofana’s exploits on his home debut on loan from Chelsea may have surprised Burnley fans, it was no shock for Kompany, who spotted the striker’s potential long ago.
After a stirring fightback to recover from 2-0 down against Fulham, the Belgian admitted Chelsea’s financial power out-muscled Burnley when the £11million forward was leaving Norwegian side Molde just over a year ago.
Now Kompany finally has his man – at least for the next five months.
And Fofana’s impact – climbing off the bench to rescue Burnley from certain defeat with two goals in the 71st and 91st minutes – has provided hope in their fight for Premier League survival.
Kompany said: “I was following him, basically before Chelsea signed him I tried to get him but we got outbid.
“He has goal-scoring ability, he had that in Norway but sometimes when you move you get lost at clubs in the top five leagues.
“But sometimes it’s just the right timing and that’s what I wanted to try and do. Having Fofana here gives us more options.
“He’s a player who has contact strength and who can also do his defensive duties while also stretching the game.
“He has that ability to ride challenges and when he receives the ball he has an idea. Sometimes, it doesn’t look like he’s in the right tempo, but it comes off. Those players are difficult to play against because they’re quite unpredictable.
“He’s still a player finding his feet within the squad so hopefully we can benefit from him even more as the season goes on.”
Burnley fans will now be looking to Fofana – who arrived from another loan spell at Bundesliga side Union Berlin – to deliver more goals after his explosive home debut.
But Kompany is not heaping pressure on the 21-year-old Ivorian. He said: “I don’t believe in any individual on his own getting us over the line but I do believe as a collective having these options will give us a chance.
“I could say it’s all beautiful and fantastic but we have a tough job to do. Everyone is going to have to pull their weight but we showed good fight and belief.”
While Burnley were buzzing, Fulham were stunned at losing a 2-0 lead after first-half goals by Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz inside 21 minutes.
Clarets keeper James Trafford made vital saves to prevent a killer third Cottagers goal, while two quality left-flank crosses from deadline-day signing Lorenz Assignon and Wilson Odobert made Fofana the hero.
Silva slammed his side for allowing Burnley to draw level but he was delighted for Muniz, who celebrated his debut Premier League goal with tears of joy.
Silva said: “He has the skills and profile to be a very good striker.
“Of course, he has to be more confident and relax at certain moments but I’m very pleased for him, he gave a good performance.”
On Fulham’s late blow, Silva added: “It’s a big frustration to lose two points like that but it’s our fault, we didn’t manage the last moments of the game. It’s happened too often this season.”