[ad_1]
Fulham takes a look in the daylight and judging by the exuberant howls at full time they know it all too well. They are now three points behind 17th Newcastle United, whom they will host on the final day, and the relegation landscape appears to have changed significantly as the season approaches its two-thirds stage.
Ademola Lookman’s 61st minute winner opened up this new world of possibilities for Scott Parker’s team and surely meant that Sheffield United have been left without lives in their own fight against the fall. The Blades needed to win here to maintain any pretense of contact with security, but they only showed life as a strike force after going back.
At first there seemed to be an implicit recognition that a tie would be of little use to anyone here. The initial exchanges were energetic and loud, but without the skill necessary to open a game whose tension was palpable. Fulham squeezed the ball as usual and, eager to seize his chance, tried to set the tone.
Aaron Ramsdale had to beat Lookman’s eighth-minute corner, wrong but floating awkwardly, over his bar. Moments later, Lookman had an effort deflected wide and there was a flutter for the visiting side as well, when a first-time blast from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa worried Ramsdale enough to require a full dive. It so happened that the ball went off quite a bit, but Fulham, whose left-back Antonee Robinson acted as a de facto winger at times, kept trying and Lookman fired another shot from distance down the goalkeeper’s throat.
For all its precision in the middle third, it became easy to see why Fulham, which had drawn nine of its previous 13 games, was the lowest home scorer in the division. Ruben Loftus-Cheek checked his left foot, but fired a high shot, and within half an hour, United, all three defenders led by Phil Jagielka, 38, had had no trouble from close range.
His means of repulsion were not at all elegant: it was surprising that a succession of disorderly fouls by Ethan Ampadu, Enda Stevens, John Lundstram and George Baldock did not encourage the referee, Martin Atkinson, to take at least one yellow card.
When Fulham came in behind, Ivan Cavaleiro cut inside but went out of the goal with his teammates waiting. Right before the break, Loftus-Cheek directed his best shot after doing the hard work of getting up to find a corner. Beyond a couple of wasted set pieces, United offered not an iota of threat in the first half. However, they had succeeded in creating an almighty fight.
It became clear that they would need a lot more. Lookman had been Fulham’s brightest player and he did well to control a low ball from Joachim Andersen’s back. He seemed to have shown Ampadu too much, but the defender messed up his feet and Lookman came back in, diving from the left and punching low under Ramsdale.
It was what Fulham deserved, who could have scored a few minutes earlier when Baldock cleared a shot from Loftus-Cheek in front of goal, at least trying to make the most of the day. The Blades had looked a bit brighter, Billy Sharp saw their blushes shake off a questionable offside flag after hitting from close range, and now they had to take some initiative. Stevens should have delivered a quick draw when, played into space by Sharp, he allowed Alphonse Areola to save with his legs.
The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily soccer email
United were enraged at the end when Areola heroically blocked at Jayden Bogle’s feet, his left foot deflected the ball and ensured no penalty was awarded when the substitute was cut off by his right. Your goose is cooked; Fulham have everything to play for.
