The win moves Fulham up to 12th place in the table, just one point behind Everton and two points behind both Burnley and Stoke City. It is conceivable that the Cottagers could vault into the top ten as they have a game in hand.
Roy Hodgson's side was in control all night long at the Cottage. The Cottagers controlled the midfield and keeper Mark Schwarzer was never really tested throughout the match.
The Whites strong first half looked as though it may go unrewarded until the 43rd minute when oft-criticized forward Bobby Zamora headed home a Damien Duff cross to give Fulham a much deserved 1-0 lead at the break.
The momentum continued into the second half as the Cottagers continued to attack the Hull City goal in waves. The hard work paid off in the 63rd minute when the aforementioned Zamora's cross was tapped in by Diomansy Kamara to make it 2-0.
Fulham looked to add more in the last 30 minutes of the match but nothing ever materialized. It was a good, comfortable win for the Cottagers and one in which they had to have to keep their season going in a positive note.
I have said many times before that I feel this Fulham team is too good to be considered a candidate for relegation. Today's match proved just that as it was clear that the Cottagers were the superior team on the pitch. It was a match in which Fulham was favored to win and proved the pundits were correct in making easy work of Phil Brown's lifeless Tigers.
One side note about the match was the return of former Cottager Jimmy Bullard. The energetic midfielder made his long awaited 2009-2010 debut for Hull after leaving Fulham last January and then subsequently getting injured in his first appearance with the Tigers. It was nice to see Jimmy back in action. He is a good character and a good player that did nothing but positive things when at the club. I wish him nothing but the best throughout the rest of his career. His contributions during the 2007-2008 "Great Escape" season will never be forgotten by me. It's nice to have Jimmy back on the pitch.
With Monday's match in the books, the attention will now be focused on Thursday night when mighty Roma come a calling to Craven Cottage in a key Europa League group contest. Heading into this match, Fulham is leading the group with four points through two matches. Roma and FC Basle are tied in second place on three points, while CSKA Sofia is in last on one point.
A win for Fulham on Thursday over Roma would really put the Cottagers in the drivers seat to advance beyond the group stage. However, that will be a tall order as the Roma will surely be hungry for a win to get back to the top of this competitive group.
It will be interesting to see what kind of a team Roy Hodgson selects for this match. It has become clear that the Premier League is the team's priority and with a comfortable win on Monday against Hull, the Cottagers can feel a little better about Thursday's game knowing that their league position is moving upwards rather than spiraling down. However, one thing to keep in mind is that despite Thursday's match being at Craven Cottage, Fulham will have to make a trip north to take on Manchester City in league play on Sunday.
So, that being said, what kind of a lineup would you like to see in this match? Would you like to see most of the regulars or would you prefer a mix of starters and reserves? Or simply, all reserves to give the regulars time off to prepare for the trip to the City of Manchester Stadium? It is a tough call. I am glad I do not have to make the decision, although if I had, I would likely go with a mix of both starters and reserves as I have been saying since the competition began in late July. I guess we will find out on Thursday. Let me know what you think.
RSS feed