NOW SCOTT’S GLAD HE CAME
Feisty Fulham grab deserved draw at Spurs
WHEN the talking ceased, Fulham were poised and ready to pounce. Fired up, perhaps, by their burning sense of injustice, they produced a spirited display and foiled Tottenham’s plan to close in on the Premier League summit.
Scott Parker was furious about the way this fixture was thrust upon him at short notice.
The Fulham manager called it ‘scandalous’ ahead of the game, but he will be encouraged by the response from his team.
They are in relegation trouble and they trailed from midway through the first half to a flying header from Harry Kane, but they refused to be dominated.
They refused to accept defeat and poured forward until Ivan Cavaleiro climbed above Eric Dier to head in the equaliser, with 16 minutes to go, after a fabulous flash of skill and a cross by their substitute Ademola Lookman.
Fulham, without a win against Spurs for almost eight years, almost went on to snatch a victory. Hugo Lloris had to be alert to dash from his line to thwart Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
They settled for a point. Parker yelled in delight and clenched both fists at the final whistle.
‘I’m very proud,’ he said. ‘No one really knows what we have been through the last couple of weeks.
‘There were players out there who have come back from Covid and had one day of training.
‘There were players who had three days training.
‘I am proud because of how we played in the circumstances but I am even more proud of them because we showed real quality.’
It is a vital point towards the survival fund and no more than they deserved.
They are up for the fight and they will need to be because next up for them are Chelsea and Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
Jose Mourinho can take comfort from the fact he was right about Fulham. The Spurs boss suspected they would be strong and full of running, and they were.
There was little else, however, to satisfy Mourinho. ‘Good but not good enough,’ was his assessment. ‘We had the chances to kill the game in the first half. In the second half, we had the biggest chance to kill the game. But when you don’t do it, you can’t concede the way we did.’
The big chance came when Son Heung-min struck a post at 1-0. Sergio Reguilon thought he had found a late winner only to discover he was offside.
On a night when Manchester City eased ominously into the top three it felt like a missed opportunity for Tottenham.
Fulham opened brightly. Lloris saved from Cavaleiro and AndreFrank Zambo Anguissa but Spurs gradually began to impose their superior quality.
Reguilon fired a good chance over and Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola produced two wonderful saves to frustrate Son.
First a volley, stabbed at goal by Son after another cross by Serge Aurier was kept out by Areola’s right boot.
Then, a reflex save to turn over a header from Son, picked out by a clever pass clipped into the box by Tanguy Ndombele. The replays hinted at offside but Fulham had to defend the corner, which they did successfully, only to go behind moments later.
This time, the danger came from Tottenham’s left flank, where Reguilon rampaged forward to collect a long pass from PierreEmile Hojbjerg. His delivery on the run was exemplary, whipped at pace across the front of goal.
Kane attacked the space between Joachim Andersen and Tosin Adarabioyo, two of the three central defenders, and met the cross with a diving header. In went his 11th Premier League goal of the season. The contest remained open and enjoyable. Fulham flickered.
Loftus-Cheek was only an inch or two wide with an acrobatic volley from a cross by Tete, and Anguissa tested Lloris again from distance.
Spurs, meanwhile, had chances to extend the lead before the interval. The best of them fell to Hojbjerg, who burst through from midfield on to a pass by Kane.
Were the roles reversed it might have been 2-0 but the Dane’s side-footed finished was tame and Areola saved.
Moussa Sissoko wanted a penalty as the ball skipped up and struck Adarabioyo on the hand. Referee Paul Tierney waved his appeals away and there was no intervention from VAR. Fulham played with ambition, although
Tottenham resisted and remained dangerous on the break. Sissoko was denied by a late recovery tackle from Adarabioyo and Areola pushed wide a splendid effort from long range by Harry Winks.
Son thought he had the second on the break. He accelerated clear, on to a pass from Ndombele and his shot beat Areola, only to hit the post. Moments later, Fulham were level through Cavaleiro.