You can feel the adrenaline inside your body as match day arrives at the start of the season. Especially when you are playing the favourites and nobody gives you a cat in hell's chance. We all share the same thoughts "will the defence hold strong?", "what about the new boys? how will they adapt?", "was pre-season a false dawn?, and so on, and so on. That is the feeling us long suffering Fulham fans feel, and for all of that, it brings us closer together, as a family.
Jumping off the bus in Putney, I see the black and white striped clad Geordies, walking around like they own the place. So what if there are 7000 of them, and so what if they think it is going to be a walk in the park?
First stop is the Railway, a couple of beers and chats with a few strangers wearing our badge with pride. Sadly, a few arrogant Geordies ruin the atmosphere with their tuneless, monotonous singing. So, time to leave and head to the Golden Lion where I know there will be no Geordies. One beer later, and mood improved, time to get to the Cottage. Wonderful to see the masses again, reminding us of the Prem. era. You could feel the sense of anticipation in the air, and even some optimism as "Slavisa's black and white army" took to the field. The FFC faithful were magnificent, getting behind the lads from the off. To be fair, it was a cagey affair to begin with, with typical Rafa tactics of trying to play keep ball. But, that was all it was, keep ball without really going anywhere. But, let's not take away anything from our boys, they kept their shape, and fought for everything. McDonald and Tunners protecting the back four, and McDonald looking to turn defence into attack at every opportunity. "Big Kev" looked impressive and composed, whilst Tunners did the donkey work getting everywhere. Newcastle's only outlet seemed to be, to play over the top and use the pace of Gayle and Perez. The imperious Kalas and Madl were too solid and apart from Odoi getting caught out of position, a couple of times, there was no real threat. A penalty appeal against Tunners, for handball, was debatable, but hey, luck evens itself out, and we were due some luck. At the other end we looked sharp moving the ball quickly and using width. Cairney, Ayite and Aluko were given the freedom to roam and it looks like with a few more games we are going to cause big problems in that area. Cairney as always was phenomenal with Ayite not far behind. The goal came at the end of the first half, and what an expertly placed header it was from Smith when a lot of players would have gone for power. The fact that Newcastle's defence may have well as been in the dressing room shouldn't detract from Smith's technique.
The second half was much of the same, until the last 25 minutes when Benitez decided to be a bit more positive. Ritchie came more into the game, but one shot which Button judged well, as the ball swerved wickedly, was the only real open chance they had. At the other end Fulham were still rotating and Cairney seemed to be everywhere. It looked like we were getting arrogant, as perfectly epitomized by Odoi with his audacious piece of skill, turning his back on the ball to flick it over the defender with his shoulder. With a little bit of luck, we may have nicked another, but when the final whistle blew, a well deserved standing ovation greeted our heroes.
MOM- Cairney, but only just from 10 others.
Moment of the match- Odoi's audacious flick.
So that was it, as we left the ground on a high, and we headed off back to the Fox and Hounds for a couple of celebratory drinks. Strange now that the Geordies were silent and it was the FFC faithful who were displaying a little arrogance, and why not? And just to top the evening off we were asked to leave the Railway, by the "Big Bad Wolves" (bouncers) for singing "We are top of the league". A brilliant start to the new season. COYWs.
© Nic Smith
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