JIMMY SURPRISED BY SYLLA SHOW
Clouds lift after a tough week
ALLEGATIONS of corruption against Queens Park Rangers boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink could not stop his side gaining their first Championship victory in six matches as they won a barnstormer at Craven Cottage.
A missed Fulham penalty, the final kick of the match, saw the home side downed by Rangers thanks to Idrissa Sylla’s winner with three minutes to go.
Hasselbaink took charge of the Super Hoops as the club’s investigation into his conduct was suspended, and the Dutchman said he will do all he can to aid their enquiries.
“It’s very simple; my lawyers have asked for the transcript, and at this moment in time the newspapers haven’t provided it yet,” said the former Chelsea striker.
“It’s been a very difficult couple of days, but the support I have had from the club and the people around me has been immense. The last couple of days we have been able to concentrate on the game, and that was a good outlet.
“We knew they were a good team. We wanted to stop them in their half, and we did that.
“We made a few mistakes but I had a feeling that during the game I was fighting everybody – the referee and his decisions.”
The match began in lively fashion with Fulham winning a fifth-minute penalty after Ragnar Siggurdsson was brought down by Steven Caulker in the box, but Tom Cairney’s effort was saved by Alex Smithies.
Fulham largely controlled the first quarter but a defensive lapse saw Conor Washington shoot past a diving David Button to give Rangers an unexpected 20th-minute lead.
The home side nearly opened their account after 35 minutes, but Sone Aluko’s breakaway run ended with a shot fired millimetres past the far post.
The Cottagers were straight out the blocks in the second half with a lofted Scott Parker cross finding Tim Ream on the back post, who slotted home in the 47th minute.
Minutes later substitute Matt Smith nodded down to Parker, but his shot was cleared off the line.
Rangers began to grow into the game and Sylla’s header, from Tjaronn Chery’s cross, broke the home fans’ hearts with three minutes remaining.
The drama wasn’t over though, and a 91st-minute Jozabed free-kick struck the QPR bar before a second Fulham penalty – awarded for a 95th-minute Sylla foul on Jozabed – was taken this time by Aluko, who hit the woodwork.
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic was at a loss to explain how his side lost, extending their winless run to six Championship matches, but took the blame for the result. “I accept responsibility because we made tried hard,” he said. “It’s a little bit confusing and a strange situation for us but we have to stick together.
“We have to try to be a bit more solid in defence and show our quality and our personality. We are not worried because we can improve our performance.
“We didn’t find a clear way to score goals. We believed that if we created the chances we were going to score the goals but it is not enough.
“We need to stay all together and be organised, stay confident and believe we are going to score the goal.”