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FULHAM HOME 19 -4-05
Final whistle: 2154 - Report online: 2159
Jones, Cooper, Ehiogu, Southgate, Queudrue, Parlour, Boateng, Zenden, Downing, Nemeth, Hasselbaink
Doriva, Davies, Kennedy, Knight, Wheater
The First Half
It was a lethargic and lacklustre start to the game with the first decent chance of the match falling to Brian McBride, who put his free header wide in the seventh minute. Until then, there was nothing to report.
Still half of the Boro team had not touched the ball with twelve minutes gone but JFH nearly won a penalty but referee Rob Styles decided he was looking too hard. If you know what I mean.
A couple of bits of minor pressure by Boro lifted the crowd temporarily and although Van Der sar had had absolutely nothing to do so far, the Fulham defence looked very under confident on the rare occasions that we did run at them.
But Boro's passing in the first quarter of the match was poor and all the application in the world means little if we cannot get the basics right.
The first half was a very poor advert for Premier League football and for Boro as well.
Downing and Zenden were conspicuous by their absence, as was Parlour and thankfully Brad Jones as well. But that was due more to the general ineptitude of both teams and the poor standard of play that had produced so little in the lethargic first fourty five minutes.
Fan Reaction
"I hope Steve Mc turns it round in the second half. It's hardly breathtaking..."
The Smognificent Seven
The Second Half
Boro started the second half looking a little brighter and pressed forward with the crowd right behind the team.
However, the Fulham players must have been briefed that we were there for the taking tonight, unless we improved on our first half performance.
Boro's determination and early over exuberance gifted Fulham a free kick and Boa Morte's strike left Brad Jones stranded and skimmed the bar.
Captain Southgate, already booked in the first half for a minor incident, was lucky to escape with just a caution for another clumsy challenge. A second bookable offence would have meant red and that would have been a disaster.
At the mid way point of the half, Boro started to apply a bit of pressure but although the moves looked like they could produce something interesting, the end product was poor and it was becoming difficult to see where a goal was going to come from.
Bolo Zenden managed to get himself more into the game which resulted in Boro gaining more chances. Nothing came from any of them but the team were trying now and there was hope.
Into The Red Zone
But it was extinguished when Brian McBride produced a great finish from a neat move that caught our defence completely flat-footed on eighty-two minutes.
As people started to leave the ground, Boro switched formation to 3-5-2 with Colin Cooper making way for Jason Kennedy. It didn't seem enough.
And then, with time running very short indeed, Boro were awarded their first penalty of the season. Looking at the replay, the decision was harsh on Fulham as the 'handball' seemed to be outside of the area. But we didn't complain too much as Bolo Zenden stepped up to take it. He made no mistake and as three minutes were added on, some of the hope returned.
But we created no further chances in the remaining ninety seconds and you have to say that we were incredibly lucky to get a point tonight. A total contrast to when we played at Craven Cottage in August and prodcued the most solid Boro performance for many years. How long will it be until the next one?
Fan Reaction
"About time a decision went for us..."
Datsun
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