Silva’s premier service
Fulham dispel memories of relegation
SWANSEA’S need for a new striker was more obvious than ever as they were held by Sheffield United.
Russell Martin’s side bossed the ball but had just one shot on target against a team relegated from the Premier League.
United were disappointing given they had Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick, Oliver Burke and former Swans Rhian Brewster and Oli McBurnie as attacking threats.
Jamal Lowe had Swansea’s one effort on target but neither he nor his replacement Joel Piroe could strike. McGoldrick missed Blades’ best chances.
CARDIFF boss Mick McCarthy was pleased with his team after two second-half strikes secured victory at newly- promoted Blackpool.
The visitors, who had been held 1-1 at home by Barnsley in their opening clash, were on top from the off and sealed the win after goals from Leandro Bacuna and Kieffer Moore.
McCarthy said: ‘I could get a bit anxious about a few things, but overall it’s not worth it. We’ve put in a terrific shift and this is a big three points.’
Home boss Neil Critchley added: ‘It’s been a difficult day and a bit of a wake-up call.’
TWO of Neil Warnock’s summer signings found the net for Middlesbrough to make it a memorable afternoon for the veteran manager.
Uche Ikpeazu opened the scoring before Andy King drew Bristol City level on the hour. Matt Crooks then put Middlesbrough back in the lead 10 minutes later with a simple tap-in.
Warnock said of the fans: ‘I was gobsmacked before kickoff. It was an amazing sight — that’s why I’m in the game.’
Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson said: ‘We were careless. We had enough possession.’
THESE remain very early days but Fulham served up the kind of performance that had them looking every inch promotion material.
Their teamwork was peerless, their conviction unshakeable as they reduced Huddersfield to rubble in front of their disbelieving and, ultimately, angry supporters.
Healing the scars of last season’s r el egati on f r om t he Premier League will take some doing, but Marco Silva is promising to write a new chapter after taking over from Scott Parker.
They purred ominously in West Yorkshire and, had they added several more goals to their tally, nobody in the home stands could have complained.
Bobby Decordova-Reid produced three assists and Silva said: ‘We deserved the three points and were the best team on the pitch again.
‘It was a fair result, the players did well. We controlled the game against a team who like to press really high.’
A crowd of 15,126 turned up hoping to see signs of progress from the Carlos Corberan era, with the Spaniard having taken over last summer after two years working under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.
Corberan’s side flirted with relegation last season and they were booed off at half-time and again at the final whistle here. Credit to Fulham, of course. They were simply too strong and too vibrant.
When Harry Wilson, the £12million summer signing from Liverpool, was sent off in the 73rd minute for kicking out at Levi Colwill, the visitors simply moved through the gears and scored t wice more through substitute Ivan Cavaleiro.
The manner in which they took control of the match after Huddersfield had an early goal disallowed — Matty Pearson rifled home before an offside flag was raised — will fill Silva with confidence.
In the ninth minute, Huddersfield goal keeper Ryan Schofield’ s attempted clearance rebounded off Aleksandar Mitrovic and into the net for the opening goal.
Josh Onomah nodded in a second from close range but Pearson headed home for Huddersfield before Fabio Carvalho rifled in a low shot to make it 3-1 at the break.
Mitrovic had another goal disallowed and also fired straight at Schofield when he should have scored.
After the break, Wilson hit the crossbar before being fouled by Colwill and then kicking out at him, sparking a melee. Colwill was booked for t he challenge and Wilson saw red for his reaction.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Fulham substitute Cavaleiro produced two fine finishes in the final quarter to leave Corberan devastated. He admitted: ‘Where did we go wrong? Many things. We need to analyse.’
Tuesday’s visit of Preston has taken on added importance for Corberan, while the prospect of star midfielder Lewis O’Brien being sold to Leeds or Crystal Palace remains a possibility. HUDDERSFIELD (4-2-3-1): Schofield 5; Turton 6, Sarr 6, Pearson 6, Colwill 6; Hogg 6, Vallejo 6 (High 45min, 6); Koroma 6, Holmes 5 (Rhodes 67, 5), Thomas 6; Ward 65 (Campbell 45, 6). Booked: Colwill. Subs (not used): Avila, Bilokapic, Brown, Lees. FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Gazzaniga 6; Tete 6, Tosin 6, Ream 6,
Robinson 6; Onomah 7 (Cavaleiro 77), Seri 6 (Francois 86); Wilson 6, Carvalho 7 (Anguissa 77), Decordova-Reid 8; Mitrovic 7. Booked: Decordova-Reid. Sent off: Wilson (72min). Subs (not used): Rodak, Kebano, Bryan, Mawson. Referee: D Whitestone (Northamptonshire) 6.