It's Round and It's White
Going into the match on Saturday, much of the focus in the media and social media was on the situation with Clint Dempsey and Fulham. Well, Fulham put on a dominating display at Craven Cottage against Norwich City, to put the focus back on the pitch. Fulham beat Norwich City 5-0 in a match that was very pleasing to watch from a Fulham fan’s perspective.
The first 15 minutes of this match was pretty even, and Norwich City did a nice job of having their share of possession. However, as the match progressed in the first half, Fulham turned up the heat.
Fulham got their first goal in the 26th minute, as John Arne Riise sent a long pass to Damien Duff, who ran underneath the ball, and sent a shot past Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy in the left corner of the net. Fulham were up 1-0 just over halfway through the first half.
Fulham continued to press the play, and finally got their second late in the first half. Mladen Petric scored on a wonderful header that just got past the goal line. His goal came off of a corner kick from Duff in the 41st minute. Fulham would take a 2-0 lead that would continue to halftime.
The second half started somewhat like the first as Norwich City did see some possession, as they attempted to get back into this match. However, Fulham put the match out of reach in the 54th minute, as Petric sent a screamer just outside of the box on the right side, that deflected off of Nowich City defender Michael Turner, and into the left top corner of the net. Fulham were up 3-0, and never looked back.
Fulham would add to their lead in the 66th minute with a wonderful display of passing which lead to the fourth goal of the match. Mousa Dembele sent a pass to Petric who backheeled a pass to Alex Kacaniklic who was running towards the net. He beat Ruddy to the right corner of the goal to give Fulham a 4-0 lead.
To top off the dominance in this match, Fulham would score one last time in the 87th minute. Hugo Rodallega came on in the second half, and he was taken down inside of the box by Michael Turner. A penalty kick was called and Steve Sidwell scored to give Fulham the 5-0 lead. The match would finish up a few minutes later with Fulham beating Norwich City 5-0 at Craven Cottage.
This was only the first match of the season, but for Fulham fans, they had to be encouraged in what they witnessed at Craven Cottage. Not only did Fulham dominate this match, they played a style of football that was pleasing to the eyes. This was an impressive start to the season for the Cottagers.
