Tom eases it for Parker
FULHAM boss Scott
Parker insists his side will play their way to promotion after Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrovic launched their season.
Parker won’t compromise on his principles even though the opening half-hour was a white-knuckle ride of playing out from the back.
Time and again the home side lost possession in their own half as they tried and failed with their methods.
That was until Cairney’s thunderbolt settled matters.
Yet Parker will not be swayed and he said:
“There was a bit of edginess and nerves at the beginning from us, but at the same time the boys were also very brave.
“The way I want us to play comes with a certain risk and a world-class strike from Tom eased things for us.
“Last week at Barnsley we took the easy option at times.
“As a team we‘re not going to win football matches that way.” Cairney was the fulcrum of the Fulham performance and oozed class as he continually drifted into space to set his side’s attack in motion.
After 34 minutes of watching Blackburn squander chances, most notably with a Bradley Johnson header in the opening minute, Cairney took matters into his own hands.
Turning on a short pass, he took one touch forward, then sent a thunderous left-foot strike into the top corner to rock his old club.
That settled Fulham and apart from an Adam Armstrong shot that fizzed just wide of the far post in the 53rd minute, they were rarely troubled.
The energetic Joe Bryan galloped forward eight minutes from time to serve up the second goal for Mitrovic from barely six yards out.
Blackburn are pointless after two games, yet manager Tony Mowbray is not worried.
He said: “We were the dominant team for the whole of the first half.
“On balance, it looked like there was only one team going to score and their goal came in isolation, I would suggest.
“We kept taking the ball off them and got in great positions, but didn’t punish them.
“If Fulham are a lot of people’s favourites to get promotion this year, then I don’t think there is much between the teams.” FULHAM BLACKBURN 3 ........ Shots on Target ........ 0 8 ........ Shots off Target ......... 7 5 ................Corners .................5 7 .................. Fouls .................. 16 2 ............... Offsides ..................1 50.0 . Passing Success ...50.0 367 ....... Total Passes ........ 358 59 ...........Possession ............ 41 20.0 . Territorial Adv%.. 80.0