West Brom went into this game sitting bottom of the league, knowing that a win could fire us rapidly up the table. When the fixtures were released it is clear to the Albion faithful that games against teams such as Fulham, especially at home, are classed as ‘must-wins’. Following Wednesday’s exit from the Carling Cup, this game certainly was one targeted as a win.
The team selection saw summer signing Gareth McAuley make his Premier League debut, partnering Jonas Olsson in a new look defence. Chris Brunt and Graham Dorrans also made a return to the side with Shane Long battling off an illness to also start. Fulham’s side made three changes from the team that had an impressive draw with Manchester City last weekend.
Refereed by Stuart Atwell, the game kicked off to a sombre reflection on the untimely death of youth player Blake Melbourne, with both sets of fans and players giving a minute’s applause. With chants of “There’s only one Blake Melbourne” being heard in the ground, it was a fitting tribute to a player who had an enormous amount of potential.
First half
Albion came out of the blocks very quickly; after some neat and tidy play, Chris Brunt headed a shot straight into Mark Schwarzer’s arms. However, Fulham soon reacted with an Orlando Sa volley being diverted away by the leg of McAuley in his first bit of action in the top flight. Following on from this, Albion set up another attack with Mulumbu sending a 25 yard thunderbolt into a diving Schwarzer’s arms.
Quickly after this, Fulham thought they had taken the lead after Pajtim Kasami sent the ball to the back of the net following a Foster spill from a rocketing Clint Dempsey shot, however this was ruled offside, much to the home crowd’s delight. Seeing the ball roll into the net seemed to give Fulham a new lease of life, and they took the first half by the neck and were by far the better team, with Dembele firing into Foster’s hands and Sidwell sending a shot high into the Brummie Road. In between the Fulham onslaught, Shane Long showed why he has been such a smart summer acquisition after finding a break in the Fulham defence, firing a shot just over the bar.
Fulham’s attack continued, however the Albion defence stood up to the challenge, with McAuley looking ever more suited to the Premier League. McAuley and Olsson were the main players for Albion in the first half with blocks, tackles and a solid presence keeping Fulham out of the box.
After the break
It was almost as if there had not been a half time break with Fulham again pushing forward from the start, an attack that very nearly ended up in a goal for Dempsey, were it not for Olsson’s blocked header which hit the post and preceded to bounce to safety. Only seconds later, Dempsey almost scored following Reid’s unfortunate clearance. Fulham were certainly up for it and were not scared to show it. Their fans were buoyed by this positive start, with the small amount of travelling fans making as much noise as possible.
The second half was going to be a challenge for the Baggies and we responded by Odemwingie scoring a goal. Which was unfortunately but rightly ruled offside. The home fans reacted to this by turning up the volume, and subsequently we saw a chance when Long headed a Brunt free-kick across the goal, only for there to be no one there. You could already sense that this game was going to be one of many chances, but few goals.
Then, in a matter of minutes, as the game progressed to the hour mark, Albion could, and should, have taken the lead. We had a penalty appeal turned away as Long went down in the box following a tackle from defender Chris Baird. The officials waved away the appeals and the game continued. In a matter of minutes, Odemwingie had the chance of the game. Following a lovely through ball – that was better than any Kaka could do from Mulumbu, Odemwingie had the chance to score the first goal of the game. The Baggies faithful were on their feet, and the ground collectively sighed when Hangelaand cleared after Odemwingie had shot straight at Schwarzer when through one-on-one.
Despite these chances, Fulham still pushed forward with our defence being ever resilient, McAuley showing why he has always been so heavily respected by his peers. Then, with just over ten minutes remaining, Fulham had their closest shot at scoring a goal after a Riise thunderbolt was kept out by Foster, only for it to jump to Fulham’s sub Bryan Ruiz’s outstretched leg. Rushing out to him, Foster somehow diverted his attention to fire just wide, and with it Fulham’s chances of three points.
Even up to the final whistle Albion kept pushing forward looking for that ever elusive goal. Morrison was denied by Baird; a shot that looked like it was heading straight into the back of the net. In extra time, Chris Brunt tried an audacious 20 yard shot that clipped the inside of the post. The final whistle went and points were shared. A fair result on reflection, the game was one of two halves, Fulham having the upper hand in the first and us with the second.
It may have been a draw, and not the most inspiring of games, but we achieved another clean sheet – the second of the season. Two clean sheets were all that we had last season, so to already have equalled that is a positive thought. Another positive from the game was McAuley’s performance. He fitted very well into the team, worked well with Olsson and certainly made a presence at the back. Tamas has got a challenge to face.
On Reflection
A point against Fulham was not what many fans would have wanted. However, it is a point well deserved considering the tough Fulham team that we were up against. They showed last week that they could draw with one of the top teams, and it is important to remember that this Fulham team has been playing together since July due to Europa League commitments. They worked well together and were a tougher test than I would have imagined.
McAuley looked good for us at the back and it was also very promising to see a back line so determined not to let anything pass. Sunderland away will be tough next week, but if we sharpen up the finishing and have a bit more luck on our side, it is not impossible to get something from it. Boing Boing!
Have your say on Albion's draw here at Baggies Banter.