A Cottage industry for Scott’s keepers
KEEPER HAS THE NAHKI OF CAUSING HEARTACHE
SCOTT PARKER says a three-way scrap for the Fulham No1 spot is bringing the best out of keeper Marek Rodak.
Slovakian Rodak, 23, dislodged Marcus Bettinelli from the team in October, but the arrival of Jordan Archer from Oxford last month has ramped up the competition for a place.
Fulham boss Parker said: “Marcus has been driving Marek along.
And they are driving each other now that Jordan has come in.
Marek is someone we want to be a Fulham player for a long, long time.” Kevin McDonald believes last Saturday’s 3-2 victory against Huddersfield provided a timely wake-up call as the Cottagers almost blew a 3-0 lead. The midfielder said: “There is never an easy game in the Championship. But we allowed ourselves to think it was an easy game.”
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BLACKBURN winger Lewis Holtby is set to miss the rest of the season after being forced off with a knee injury in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough.
Rovers, six points outside a Championship play-off spot, lost key forward Bradley Dack for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in December and manager Tony Mowbray said: “Off the back of Bradley, Lewis is a big loss.”
BIRMINGHAM’S penaltysaving king Lee Camp is aiming to wreck Nahki Wells’ home debut for Bristol City.
Striker Wells joined the Robins for £5million from Burnley on deadline day to boost their Championship promotion bid.
If he plays today, he is likely to face spot-kick expert Camp, 35, who saved his 17th penalty last Saturday from Lewis Grabban in the 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
The goalkeeper followed that with two more big saves in Tuesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay victory over Coventry, denying Liam Walsh and Jamie Allen in the shoot-out.
Camp has helped the Blues go seven matches unbeaten in all competitions, and he is now ready to thwart Wells again after stopping the forward’s last-gasp penalty in a 4-3 win a year ago at QPR, where the Bermudan was on loan.
“I don’t mind being known for it, it is better than being known as not a penalty expert,” said Camp.
“If I don’t have to face another penalty I would be more than happy.
“It is going to be a good game, they are a tough side. They have not conceded in four league games.”
Camp, capped eight times by Northern Ireland, saved two out of three penalties as Birmingham won the shoot-out 4-1 against Coventry.
“If they put it in the top or bottom corner you don’t have much of a chance,” he said.
“You just try and stay focused – look at the penalty-taker and what he has done. I see some goalkeepers jumping about but
I try to switch off everything and concentrate on the job in hand.”
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson would love nothing more than to mark his four-year anniversary in the job by taking maximum points, with his club five points shy of the automatic promotion spots.
Victory over Birmingham would pile the pressure on their rivals at the top of the table ahead of the weekend. “I’m definitely older, definitely a little more grey,” joked the 38-year-old Johnson.
“I can honestly look myself in the mirror and say if it ended tomorrow that I have given everything for the cause.
“That won’t change and of course I want to accomplish the mission, to help the boys and fans produce Premier League football.”