The game was marred by two sendings off, following the three dismissals that occurred in last seasons league meetings between the sides. Blues were able to salvage a point, however, thanks to the prowess of debutant Mikael Forssell in front of goal.
Steve Bruce was forced into a change at the back, with Darren Purse coming in for the injured Kenny Cunningham. Further forward, Stan Lazaridis made way for Forssell, which in turn allowed David Dunn to drop into a deeper role again, as oppose to the more advanced one he occupied at St James Park. Fulham played a 4-5-1 formation with Louis Saha as a lone striker.
Having gone three games without conceding a goal, it took Blues just 36 seconds to rectify that particular record. Stephen Clemence's misplaced pass into touch from the kick-off set the tone for the afternoon for Blues, and just seconds later a Jerome Bonnissel ball forward was bizarrely left by Purse, and Saha was able to nip in, round Taylor, and finish well under pressure from Matthew Upson.
Blues were shell-shocked, and continued to play abysmally for some time, with the likes of Upson, Jamie Clapham, Damien Johnson and Clemence - all normally so reliable - all having the proverbial ' 'mares '. Blues first real chance came when Forssell took a Johnson cross down on his chest and shot just wide. A few more chances began to appear, with Stern John heading just over, and Clemence curling an effort just wide.
Fulham were quite happy to soak up the pressure and look to hit Blues on the break, and they always looked dangerous with the likes of Saha, Luis Boa Morte and Steed Malbranque. Boa Morte in particular was giving Jeff Kenna a wretched time. Blues, somewhat surprisingly, levelled in injury time of the first half. Clemence looped a hopeful and what looked fairly wasteful ball forward, which Johnson managed to get his head to, and nod towards Forssell. In typical 'natural striker' fashion, the Finn took the ball down and fired a low drive through Edwin Van Der Sar's legs to level matters prior to the break.
At half-time, Bruce opted to replace Kenna with Olivier Tebily, who went on to perform excellently. Blues began to get to grips with their game a little more as Boa Morte was shackled by the substitute, and the likes of Dunn were able to get into the game a little more. It was Dunn who was involved in the game's next major talking point - the sending off of Sylvain Legwinski on the hour. Legwinski had been booked in the first half for a foul on Clapham, and then brought Dunn down. Referee Steve Dunn brandished the red card, and it was one of those unlucky red cards where both challenges probably were bookings, but their sum-total probably didn't justify a red card. However, the referee did what he had to do.
The game began to take a familiar shape to those who has been in attendance at the same fixture last season, where Fulham ended up with just 9 men, and sat back so deep to just gain the point - which they did. This appeared to be the case again this time around, until the visitors surprised everyone - perhaps even themselves - by re-taking the lead with 12 minutes to go. From a free-kick, only Boa Morte went forward, and jumped to challenge Taylor, who fumbled the ball and the Portugese striker hit an overhead kick which trickled into the back of the net despite Upson's best efforts.
It took Blues just 4 minutes to equalise for a second time, however, with Forssell again on target. From a Robbie Savage free-kick, Upson had an excellent header superbly saved by Van Der Sar, but Forssell was in the right place at the right time (how rarely can that be said of a Blues striker?) to knock the ball home for his second. However, this wasn't the end of the drama. Understandably, with a one man advantage, Blues were keen to get the game started again. Boa Morte picked the ball out of the net, and began to try and shield it from Dunn and Purse. Purse took it upon himself to chase Boa Morte, wrestle him to the ground, and appear to throw a punch - although he may just have been trying to knock the ball out of Boa Morte's hands. Either way, it was a typical act of stupidity from Purse, that is becoming all too much of a regualr occurrence in his game. Even if he had been trying to knock the ball out of Boa Morte's hands, he should know better than to raise his hands at an opponest with the referee stood next to him. And more to the point, had to got the ball back, it was Fulham's ball anyway (for the kick-off) so he'd only have had to hand it back a few seconds later anyway. In committing such a stupid act, Purse probably jeopardised all chances Blues had of getting three points.
Savage went close with a free-kick that Van Der Sar tipped over the bar, as Blues went in search of a winner, whilst Facundo Sava and Boa Morte both tested Blues on the break in the latter stages, but in the end both sides had to settle for a point, which was probably all either side deserved, though Fulham may perhaps feel a little more aggrieved than Blues.
In terms of the referee, Steve Dunn, I understand that he will probably receive his fair share of criticism following the afternoon's events, but I cannot agree with that. I personally felt that most of the decisions he made were right. Darren Purse left him with no option but to dismiss him, whilst Legwinski's probably was two bookable offences. The other major contentious issue was Boa Morte's jump with Maik Taylor for Fulham's second, but all I'll say (having not seen a TV replay) is that how many times do we bemoan the fact that forwards are unable to jump and challenge a 'keeper these days? Had it been at the other end, and been Forssell jumping with Van Der Sar, would we have accepted it? And finally, on that point, at about twice the size of his challenger, and being able to use his hands too, shouldn't Taylor have done better?
On the plus side, it's always good to play poorly and get a result. However, this was a very poor performance with Jamie Clapham having a disastrous game, and then Upson, Clemence and Savage all fairing miserably themselves. In fairness to Fulham, they will surprise many teams this season, and Chris Coleman deserves respect for the job he has done there since taking over. From a Blues perspective, things have to be a lot better for next week's trip to Elland Road, and it's also been highlighted just how crucial Kenny Cunningham is to the side. It does appear we may have found a goalscorer though...
PLAYER RATINGS:
Taylor - Indifferent
Kenna - Given torrid time by Boa Morte
Clapham - Dreadful
Purse - Poor early on, got better, then lost his head
Upson - Poorest Blues performance
Johnson - Not his usual self
Dunn - Grew into the game in the second half
Savage - Didn't appear to have the heart for the battle
Clemence - Struggled
John - One of his better games of late
Forssell - Very good performance capped off with two good strikes
SUBS:
Tebily - Excellent
Lazaridis - Toiled to no effect
Morrison - Made some decent runs that went un-noticed... barely touched the ball
Steve Bruce was forced into a change at the back, with Darren Purse coming in for the injured Kenny Cunningham. Further forward, Stan Lazaridis made way for Forssell, which in turn allowed David Dunn to drop into a deeper role again, as oppose to the more advanced one he occupied at St James Park. Fulham played a 4-5-1 formation with Louis Saha as a lone striker.
Having gone three games without conceding a goal, it took Blues just 36 seconds to rectify that particular record. Stephen Clemence's misplaced pass into touch from the kick-off set the tone for the afternoon for Blues, and just seconds later a Jerome Bonnissel ball forward was bizarrely left by Purse, and Saha was able to nip in, round Taylor, and finish well under pressure from Matthew Upson.
Blues were shell-shocked, and continued to play abysmally for some time, with the likes of Upson, Jamie Clapham, Damien Johnson and Clemence - all normally so reliable - all having the proverbial ' 'mares '. Blues first real chance came when Forssell took a Johnson cross down on his chest and shot just wide. A few more chances began to appear, with Stern John heading just over, and Clemence curling an effort just wide.
Fulham were quite happy to soak up the pressure and look to hit Blues on the break, and they always looked dangerous with the likes of Saha, Luis Boa Morte and Steed Malbranque. Boa Morte in particular was giving Jeff Kenna a wretched time. Blues, somewhat surprisingly, levelled in injury time of the first half. Clemence looped a hopeful and what looked fairly wasteful ball forward, which Johnson managed to get his head to, and nod towards Forssell. In typical 'natural striker' fashion, the Finn took the ball down and fired a low drive through Edwin Van Der Sar's legs to level matters prior to the break.
At half-time, Bruce opted to replace Kenna with Olivier Tebily, who went on to perform excellently. Blues began to get to grips with their game a little more as Boa Morte was shackled by the substitute, and the likes of Dunn were able to get into the game a little more. It was Dunn who was involved in the game's next major talking point - the sending off of Sylvain Legwinski on the hour. Legwinski had been booked in the first half for a foul on Clapham, and then brought Dunn down. Referee Steve Dunn brandished the red card, and it was one of those unlucky red cards where both challenges probably were bookings, but their sum-total probably didn't justify a red card. However, the referee did what he had to do.
The game began to take a familiar shape to those who has been in attendance at the same fixture last season, where Fulham ended up with just 9 men, and sat back so deep to just gain the point - which they did. This appeared to be the case again this time around, until the visitors surprised everyone - perhaps even themselves - by re-taking the lead with 12 minutes to go. From a free-kick, only Boa Morte went forward, and jumped to challenge Taylor, who fumbled the ball and the Portugese striker hit an overhead kick which trickled into the back of the net despite Upson's best efforts.
It took Blues just 4 minutes to equalise for a second time, however, with Forssell again on target. From a Robbie Savage free-kick, Upson had an excellent header superbly saved by Van Der Sar, but Forssell was in the right place at the right time (how rarely can that be said of a Blues striker?) to knock the ball home for his second. However, this wasn't the end of the drama. Understandably, with a one man advantage, Blues were keen to get the game started again. Boa Morte picked the ball out of the net, and began to try and shield it from Dunn and Purse. Purse took it upon himself to chase Boa Morte, wrestle him to the ground, and appear to throw a punch - although he may just have been trying to knock the ball out of Boa Morte's hands. Either way, it was a typical act of stupidity from Purse, that is becoming all too much of a regualr occurrence in his game. Even if he had been trying to knock the ball out of Boa Morte's hands, he should know better than to raise his hands at an opponest with the referee stood next to him. And more to the point, had to got the ball back, it was Fulham's ball anyway (for the kick-off) so he'd only have had to hand it back a few seconds later anyway. In committing such a stupid act, Purse probably jeopardised all chances Blues had of getting three points.
Savage went close with a free-kick that Van Der Sar tipped over the bar, as Blues went in search of a winner, whilst Facundo Sava and Boa Morte both tested Blues on the break in the latter stages, but in the end both sides had to settle for a point, which was probably all either side deserved, though Fulham may perhaps feel a little more aggrieved than Blues.
In terms of the referee, Steve Dunn, I understand that he will probably receive his fair share of criticism following the afternoon's events, but I cannot agree with that. I personally felt that most of the decisions he made were right. Darren Purse left him with no option but to dismiss him, whilst Legwinski's probably was two bookable offences. The other major contentious issue was Boa Morte's jump with Maik Taylor for Fulham's second, but all I'll say (having not seen a TV replay) is that how many times do we bemoan the fact that forwards are unable to jump and challenge a 'keeper these days? Had it been at the other end, and been Forssell jumping with Van Der Sar, would we have accepted it? And finally, on that point, at about twice the size of his challenger, and being able to use his hands too, shouldn't Taylor have done better?
On the plus side, it's always good to play poorly and get a result. However, this was a very poor performance with Jamie Clapham having a disastrous game, and then Upson, Clemence and Savage all fairing miserably themselves. In fairness to Fulham, they will surprise many teams this season, and Chris Coleman deserves respect for the job he has done there since taking over. From a Blues perspective, things have to be a lot better for next week's trip to Elland Road, and it's also been highlighted just how crucial Kenny Cunningham is to the side. It does appear we may have found a goalscorer though...
PLAYER RATINGS:
Taylor - Indifferent
Kenna - Given torrid time by Boa Morte
Clapham - Dreadful
Purse - Poor early on, got better, then lost his head
Upson - Poorest Blues performance
Johnson - Not his usual self
Dunn - Grew into the game in the second half
Savage - Didn't appear to have the heart for the battle
Clemence - Struggled
John - One of his better games of late
Forssell - Very good performance capped off with two good strikes
SUBS:
Tebily - Excellent
Lazaridis - Toiled to no effect
Morrison - Made some decent runs that went un-noticed... barely touched the ball