Roy Hodgson and Co. showed up to Northwest England Saturday not really knowing what to expect from 2^ndDivision side Accrington Stanley. Stanley is the smallest city in the Football League, and did not disappoint on what you would expect from such a small team. Fulham were required to be bussed in from their hotel in their full kits as there were not sufficient enough facilities for the away side! The pitch also was not of any quality, as one eyewitness from the Fulham end reported to me that from one side of thepitch to the other was a 6 foot elevation difference. I feel this significantly played with the psyche of the Fulham side, and they didn’t really show up in the first half, as Stanley could have been up2-0 inside 20 minutes. You could visibly see the conditions of the pitch affecting Fulham’s “sexy football” style of play, as the soccerball was more representative of a bouncy ball. On 21 minutes, Eric Nevland poked in a goal mouth scramble to give the Whites a one goal lead, but on the stroke of the 25^th minute, Stanley answered with an equalizer from a dead ball situation that Michael Symes slotted in from six yards. At this point, Stanley seemed right up for the match, and was dictating the play. At the end of the half though Stanley’s defender Darren Kempton was send off for his second yellow card of the match, and momentum went back into the Cottagers hands. The second half showed the pace and quality you would expect from a Premiership side up against a ten man 2^nd Division side as Damien Duff took control of the game and scored in the 59^th minute. The Whites then added another goal in the 80^th minute from Zoltan Gera, and put their name in to the next round of the FA Cup.

The Cottagers will now face off against the winner of the Notts County /Wigan replay in the round of 16 due to be played in mid-February at Craven Cottage. With three of the top four already out, Fulham now sit as 14/1 to win the Cup, 5^th out of the remaining 16 teams.  My guess is Fulham will go full throttle through the rest of the Cup,disregarding player fitness to get to Wembley, as they will feel every team left in the FA Cup is quite beatable, especially given Fulham’s continuous superb home form during Hodgson’s tenure.

Bobby Zamora could make a shocking return from injury as Fulham face off against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in mid-week Premiership action.Zamora was bundled over in brash form against Stoke City in early January. He suffered an injury to his shoulder joint, and was feared tobe out for up to ten weeks.  Fulham will be without Dickson Etuhu who is away on ACN duty with Nigeria, as well as Clint Dempsey, Paul Konchesky, and John Paintsil are ruled out with leg injuries as well. Good news on the injury front for the Cottagers will see Simon Davies, Diomansy Kamara, and Andy Johnson all available for selection. Fulham’s away form has been a bit suspect this season, with only 7 points picked up from 11 games so far. Fulham have conceded 24goals so far on the year, and remarkably 18 have been away from home.

Fulham’s team selection should be something like this:

Schwarzer

Kelly Hughes Hangeland Kallio

Gera Baird Murphy Duff

Kamara Johnson

Result prediction:

Spurs 1-2 Fulham

Written by Thomas Mollison, the Official Fulham Blogger of the Goalmouth Scramble, Tom is also a major contributor for these other great sites!

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