Fear of losing leads to dire draw
This was the football equivalent of two wrestlers wearing blindfolds, trying to fight each other with hands tied behind backs and feet chained together.
It was a non-event, Newcastle becoming the first team this season to fail to score against Fulham in the Premier League. The fact they did not even manage a shot on target sums up how dire it was, although a draw was not actually a terrible result for either side.
That was the problem. Fulham were happy to keep a clean sheet, Newcastle were relieved not to lose another home match. It sucked the ambition out of both sides.
“I said to my players we have to win these sorts of games,” said Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez. “But equally, we must not lose. We made too many mistakes, we were in control but didn’t create many chances and might have given them a goal at the end. But we have taken four points from two games and we keep Fulham where they are.”
You know it has been a bad game of when the only highlight in the first half is a player being accidentally punched in the face by a team-mate, Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico catching Alfie Mawson clean on the chin when trying to clear a high ball.
There has not been a worse game in the top flight this season. Neither side deserved a goal, preferring to pass the ball sideways or backwards, a safetyfirst policy that drained enthusiasm like water going down the plug hole.
The closest Newcastle came to a goal was a header from Jamaal Lascelles which was not on target, but which Denis Odoi decided to hook clear anyway. As for Fulham, there was a freekick from Jean Michael Seri, after a bright run by Joe Bryan was halted by a foul from Fabian Schar, which Martin Dubravka was able to pluck out of the air with a small step to his right.
As the afternoon grew colder, the only comforting thought was things could not be as bad in the second half. That hope soon evaporated as the home side continued to resemble someone trying to open a tin of beans with a spoon. That was to Fulham’s credit. Given they had conceded 42 goals in 17 games since promotion, this was a sign manager Claudio Ranieri has found a way to is solidify his defence.
After Schar headed a Matt Ritchie corner over the bar, the visitors might even have snatched a win late on when Aleksandar Mitrovic saw a shot blocked by Lascelles on the line.
“In this moment, it is important to get a point and it is important to get a clean sheet,” said Ranieri. “We created more on the counter-attack, but the most important thing is we didn’t lose.”