Filed under: Fulham, Europa League (UEFA), Football, Match Reports
Andy Johnson's opening goal set Fulham on course for the win that ensured they successfully negotiated this third qualifying round tie and takes them into the Europa League play-off round.Danny Murphy's second half penalty ensured Martin Jol's side established a two-goal cushion against the RNK Split following the scoreless first leg in Croatia seven days previously.
Fulham are now six games into a marathon campaign that began on June 30, but they have another 17 to go if they are to reach the final next May.
THE GOALS:
19 mins Damien Duff's inswinging corner found it's way to Johnson and the striker made no mistake with his header.
57 mins Murphy retained his composure to convert from the penalty spot after Brede Hangeland had been brought down by Velimir Vidic.
THE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
22 mins Fulham dominated the opening stages but were lucky to escape when Split's Duje Cop fired over from 15 yards.
27 mins Clint Dempsey made an immediate impact on his first appearance of the season but should have done better with a curling shot.
60 mins Shortly after Murphy had provided the two-goal cushion, Goran Milovic gave Fulham a scare when he headed against the underside of the bar.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Mission accomplished for Jol's side who can now look forward to the play-off round draw knowing they are on the verge of entering the Group stage of the competition. The fear of course is that the demands of pre-season will eventually catch up with Fulham but so far they are showing signs of developing steadily and should certainly be well prepared when they face Aston Villa in their opening Premier League game
REACTION
Fulham manager Martin Jol admitted he would have preferred a more traditional pre-season campaign than the Europa League:
I am satisfied with the result because we go into the next round but I can't be satisfied with the preparation.
"We have to do conditioning as well, so it is not easy. We could organise another game for next Tuesday, but I think it is a bad idea. We have played six games now.
"I would love to send them to Dubai or something, but it is not possible. They have to play international matches and it is difficult to get the team together.
"Maybe we would prefer to play eight or nine games in a pre-season, especially for some of the players who have not played a lot."
But he was impressed with Andy Johnson's form:
That's the way I always saw him when I was working in England. I always thought he was a very good player, lively.
"You can play the ball to him and he can do something in an individual way like he did when he won the penalty.
"I can't ask for more than that, if he stays fit he is a terrific player for us. People are going to be interested in him because he is a very good player."
RNK Split manager Ivan Katalinic admits they blew their opportunity to win the tie in the first leg:
"We lost it at our ground, we should have scored then. Fulham were far more controlled tonight and they dominated us."
FULHAM 2 (Johnson 19, Murphy pen 57) RNK SPLIT 0
PLAYER MARKING:
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer 7; Riise 7, Senderos 6, Hangeland 8, Hughes 7; Duff 7 (Kasami 6,88), Murphy 8, Etuhu 5, Dempsey 7 (Briggs 6, 80); Zamora 6 (Dembele 6,76), Johnson 9
Substitutes (not used): Etheridge, Kelly, Baird, Gecov.
RNK Split (3-5-2): Vukovic 4; Budisa 6, Vidic 6, Milovic 8; Krizanac 6, Simic 6, Vatic 7 (Rasic 6,75, Erceg 7, Marcic 5; Baraban 6 (Oblinovic, 6, 61), Cop 5 (Jordan 6,82)
Substitutes (not used): Zagorac, Radnic, Jordan, Galovic, Barisic
REFEREE: D Gomes (Portugal)
ATTENDANCE: 17,087
NEXT UP:
- Fulham v Aston Villa (home), Premier League, 13/08, 1500 BST
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/04/fulham-2-rnk-split-0-agg-2-0-andy-johnsons-header-stes-up-c/
Owen Hargreaves Paolo Maldini Patrick Vieira Paul Casey Paul Scholes
No comments:
Post a Comment