Davies’ dithering is gift for Ojo
FULHAM were gifted an early Christmas present as a freak Sheyi Ojo goal earned them three points at the expense of Barnsley.
Just moments after Tom Bradshaw had cancelled out Floyd Ayite’s thunderbolt, Barnsley goalkeeper Adam Davies misjudged Ojo’s wayward cross and could only watch in horror as it dropped over his head and into the far corner.
It was enough to secure the win for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side, and while the Fulham boss admitted the winner had a slice of luck about it, he insisted it was a deserved victory.
“We were a little bit lucky in that situation, but generally we deserved the three points,” he said. “We showed many great things during the game and it’s important for us to start this Christmas period well.
“Floyd scored a quality goal, and we showed a reaction after we conceded the equaliser. It’s a third win at home in a row at home.
“This season our supporters have been behind us all the time. We haven’t always given them so many reasons to be satisfied but in the last few games we’ve won the points and it’s a present for them, for Christmas.”
Despite having the best of the first half, Fulham struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
Davies made a very fine save to deny Ojo’s curling 25-yard effort, and Aboubakar Kamara somehow headed past the post when the excellent Ryan Sessegnon picked him out just six yards out.
But Barnsley had the best opportunity of the first half when Fulham keeper Marcus Bettinelli inexplicably dropped the ball at the feet of Harvey Barnes, only to recover well and claw away the winger’s chipped effort.
George Moncur also might have put the visitors ahead, but volleyed over from Mamadou Thiam’s cross.
Fulham needed a moment of magic to break the deadlock, and Ayite cut in from the left and fired low into the corner from 25 yards.
But Barnsley hit back, a sumptuous cross from full-back Andy Yiadom finding Bradshaw, who stole in between the defenders to head home Barnsley’s first goal from open play in seven matches.
Parity lasted barely three minutes though, as Davies’s blunder allowed Ojo to put Fulham back ahead, a goal boss Paul Heckingbottom called a “sickener”.
Barnsley pushed manfully for an equaliser, Lloyd Isgrove impressing off the bench and Bradshaw crowded out in the box after Bettinelli had dropped a corner, but Fulham never really looked like blowing their lead for a second time and held on for a fourth win in six games.
“It’s tough, but they’re the things that we’re having to deal with at the minute,” said Heckingbottom. “It’s a fluke of a goal, but we could do better with it. We could stop it, and you get what you deserve.
“I’m just disappointed for the players. The effort, the organisation and the belief they showed, I definitely thought we deserved something out of the game.
“We just lacked a little bit of quality when we were in good situations, which means we didn’t get enough efforts off from some really good positions.
“We know what we have to do to perform like that, we have to give that much energy. If we have to add quality we have to buy, but that has to be a minimum.”