Nothing lovely or jubbly about task for Rafa
Newcastle 0
Fulham 0
RAFA BENITEZ would be better off watching repeats of Only Fools and Horses than Match of the Day, for there was very little to smile about during this stalemate.
The Newcastle manager revealed on the eve of the game that he enjoys settling down to watch comedy capers involving the Trotter family.
But Benitez was not laughing at the sight of his team toiling against the division’s worst defence, who kept a clean sheet for the first time this season.
Indeed, Newcastle did not have a shot on target and Claudio Ranieri’s side could have stolen the three points in the final minute of added time when substitute Aboubakar Kamara strode clear only for Jamaal Lascelles to nick from his toe.
Benitez said: ‘There were too many mistakes and we could have lost, everything they had came from our mistakes.
‘This was an opportunity to get three points. I thought we deserved to win, we were in control until the final five minutes.’
It’s all very well controlling possession, which they did for the large part, but an inability to do anything with the ball renders such domination meaningless.
‘I said after August 31 that this could happen, playing against teams who spent more than £100million,’ added Benitez when asked about his blunt attack.
‘We need more chances to score more goals. We have to realise we will be in the bottom half of the table all season. To go higher will be another miracle.’
It was a fairly grim, if accurate, assessment. The mistakes he alluded to included allowing Kamara to skip through on goal in the 94th minute but Lascelles saved a point with his lunge.
Seconds earlier, the home skipper had again been the goalmouth hero, even if he did appear to use his elbow to block Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goalbound shot.
Much of the prematch conversation had centred around Mitrovic and whether Benitez had been wrong in allowing him to join Fulham in the summer. Benitez never rated the Serbian striker and he wasn’t about to change his mind, despite his seven goals this season.
You would have assumed, then, that Mitrovic needed no motivation to shine here, yet his performance did little to embarrass his former boss. He was booed from the off, a little surprising given he was something of a cult hero during his three seasons on Tyneside. But so fragile is his mindset on occasions that perhaps the early jeers played a part in his subdued display, for they were rarely heard after one missed chance inside three minutes when he shot tamely at Martin Dubravka.
Fulham’s most purposeful strike came when the fist of goalkeeper Sergio Rico connected with the jaw of teammate Alfie Mawson as they attempted to cut out Christian Atsu’s deflected shot. It left Mawson dazed and in a heap. The second half saw Newcastle defender Fabian Schar go close with a header from Matt Ritchie’s corner but it was the introduction of Kamara which sparked belated life into the contest. It was he who teed up Mitrovic for the effort which was probably deserving of a penalty after Lascelles blocked just yards from goal. And the French forward thought he was about to win it before Lascelles’ late intervention. ‘I tried to win the match by bringing Kamara on and we nearly did,’ said Ranieri, but even the usually jovial Italian had little appetite for merriment. It’s just as well Del Boy and Rodney are played around the clock at this time of year.