MATCH FACT ANSWER THE CAUL Woodrow haunts Fulham
CAULEY WOODROW enjoyed a dream return to Craven Cottage on a nightmare day for Marek Rodak.
Barnsley striker Woodrow took just 24 minutes to mark his first game back at Fulham since moving to the Yorkshire club in 2018 with a clinically converted spot-kick.
He then played in Jacob
Brown to slot in the second on 51 minutes.
But both goals were gifted to the Tykes by Rodak howlers.
Then to compound a horrible day for the Slovak, the keeper was beaten at his near post when Woodrow smashed in his second on 79 minutes.
Incredibly, the visitors’ first win in six games saw them complete the double over third-placed Fulham.
More importantly it moved Barnsley to within six points of safety.
Manager Gerhard Struber said: “Cauley is a very important player and today he had a really good game, scored and also worked very hard off the ball.
“The gap is six points now and if we can reproduce this style in the next few weeks, it is not so easy for any opponent against us.”
Scott Parker and Fulham skipper Tom Cairney had rolled out the red carpet for Woodrow in their programme notes.
But Woodrow and his team-mates were not here to enjoy the hospitality as their energetic press knocked highflying Fulham out of their stride.
That graft was rewarded midway through the half.
Alex Mowatt’s pass was miscontrolled by Brown, but Rodak fumbled the ball then compounded his error by fouling the Barnsley striker as he tried to recover it.
The referee pointed to the spot and Woodrow sent the keeper the wrong way with a crisp shot into the right corner.
Such was Barnsley’s control that keeper Brad Collins was not called into serious action until the first minute of the second half.
He did well to block Aleksandar Mitrovic’s shot on the turn with his feet and it looked as if the hosts were about to mount a big second-half comeback.
But it proved a false dawn.
Five minutes later the wind held up Woodrow’s ball over the top to
leave the onrushing Rodak in no man’s land and Brown lifted the ball into an empty net from the angle of the penalty box.
Fulham continued to huff and puff with Collins denying substitutes Bobby Decordova-brown and Aboubakar Kamara.
Woodrow topped his day by turning Michael Hector inside out before beating Rodak for the third which had the away fans wishing they could play Fulham every week.
It was a day to forget for Parker and his promotion hopefuls. The Fulham boss said: “It was a big shock and I did not see that one coming. There are no excuses. We were beaten by a better side that had more intensity.
“I back Marek 100 per cent. He will bounce back. That can happen to anyone. The most important thing for me is that the players don’t point fingers and come in and work harder than ever to put wrongs right.”
■ Barnsley’s 3-0 win at Fulham was their biggest away victory in the Championship since they also beat Birmingham 3-0 in December 2016.
FULHAM
BARNSLEY