FULHAM 1 SEVEN
HUDDERSFIELD 0
ROCK-BOTTOM Huddersfield are hitting new lows every week – and David Wagner admitted he was in shell-shock after this latest body-blow.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s dramatic stoppage-time winner saw Fulham take the precious points in this relegation-haunted clash.
Abou Kamara had embarrassed himself snatching the ball for an earlier missed penalty – that should have been taken by the Serb.
But the embarrassment for the Terriers is almost greater, with last season’s heroics long forgotten.
They become only the second team, along with Leicester in 2001, to lose SEVEN Premier League matches in a month.
And Huddersfield, who have endured a Christmas of nightmares, also matched the 1955 club record of seven successive losses.
Wagner (above) said: “Obviously it’s a low point. Not only because we’ve lost seven in a row but how we lost it.
“It’s a heavy loss we’ve conceded today. We will need for sure a little bit longer than only 30 minutes afterwards to deal with it.
“December wasn’t our month, obviously. But for me it’s not possible to think so quickly after the game about the transfer window or the next game. I have to reflect.
“It’s very difficult. I think it was a game where you’ve seen both teams are struggling at the minute in the Premier League with less clear- cut chances.” Mitrovic was the Fulham hero that spared villain Kamara’s blushes in this relegation six-pointer – with his first goal in seven games.
Fulham and Huddersfield had not met in the top flight at Craven Cottage since 1952. And until the 81st minute a leftover turkey of a match had been far from worth the wait.
But the contest exploded as the Cottagers won a late penalty – and then went into a very public meltdown under the intense pressure.
Ranieri admitted the penalty row had soured ultimate victory.
He said: “It is not possible to explain what happened after we got the penalty – or maybe I should say it is easy when a man thinks only of himself. “It is not right. He didn’t respect me, the club, his teammates, the crowd… he took the ball, and just said ‘I want to shoot’. He didn’t listen to reason.
“I have spoken a little to him . Mitrovic was the designated taker, but Kamara scored our last penalty and took it on himself, ‘I am the man’.
“He did not apologise, he just told me ‘I wanted to shoot’. I said to him ‘If the whole team just said I want to shoot, what would happen?’ It is impossible to speak to this man.
“It is unbelievable, the first time in my life I have seen that. Maybe I will take him away from the squad.
“But I will do what is best for the squad. If it is good for them, he plays. If I think it isn’t, he comes out. We’ll play the Arsenal match, then I decide.
“The win showed the value of going until the end. Mitrovic has played with a 39-degree fever, but he is a strong man and completed the matches.”