Parker rocked by loss
Scott Parker admitted he was in shock after his Fulham side’s automatic promotion hopes suffered from a home thrashing by the bottom club Barnsley – with a player that the London club let go, Cauley Woodrow, scoring twice.
As the third Barnsley goal went in, Parker’s head dropped on the windswept, rain-sodden sidelines, and his mood had not improved as he walked in, typically smart and suited in the warmth, to discuss the outcome.
The pain that Woodrow – a Fulham academy product – inflicted was contributed to by goalkeeper Marek Rodak having a nightmare afternoon. Rodak gave away a penalty, allowing Woodrow to score the first goal, then recklessly raced out when Jacob Brown doubled the lead, and also produced a poor kick that ended in the third goal.
Parker said: “The biggest challenge for Marek now and for all of them is, of course, let it kill you, burn inside, but the true character of great people is that, when you come back in on Monday morning, you are as bright as you’ve ever been and you work as hard as you’ve ever done. Why? Because the chips are down.
“I’m not going to judge him today, I’m going to judge him on Monday morning. I hope he looks me in the eye and shows me he is going to improve and keep going.
“It was a big shock. I didn’t see that one coming. I’ve got no excuses really. We struggled to match their intensity. We didn’t deserve anything. This is what this league brings. A bottom team fighting for their lives can do this.”
That is twice that Barnsley have rocked Fulham in the league this season. The visitors, who had won just one league game away all season before this, battled hard, snapping away at their opponents – belying poor form, in which they had lost five of their last six.
Fulham, who had started the afternoon level on points with secondplaced Leeds United, are now having to close a three-point deficit.
Barnsley won a penalty when Brown, chasing a loose ball, collided with Rodak, who then pulled the forward to the ground. Woodrow scored confidently from the spot.
Fulham hardly threatened in the first half, meaning they went in for the break with boos accompanying them.
Rodak’s howler put them 2-0 down as he raced out of his penalty area – following a raking, long ball forward from Woodrow – meaning that Brown, 25 yards out, could roll the ball in.
Fulham’s torrid afternoon worsened when Kilian Ludewig’s impressive pass picked out Mike Bahre, who supplied Woodrow to surge forward and finish low beyond Rodak.
Gerhard Struber, the Barnsley manager, said: “We went to Fulham, facing a big opponent. We fought. We were smart and clever. It was a big win.”