ბარემ "ევროპის ლიგის" განვლილი, საკმაოდ ადვილად გადალახული III საკვალიფიკაციო ეტაპიც გავიხსენოთ...
მზადება...
I მატჩი -
ვეტრა (ლიტვა) - ფულჰემი 0-3
Zamora (44), Seol (84), Murphy (56)
Match Report The only absentee from last season's record breaking team for Thursday's European clash was Dickson Etuhu. The midfielder remained back in London for the birth of his child. Etuhu was replaced by Chris Baird in central midfield alongside captain, Danny Murphy.
By the time Thursday night's game got underway it was still a bright, hot night in Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius. The 5,900 capacity crowd created a superb atmosphere inside the stadium before kick-off.
There was certainly a lively start on the pitch as the home side almost took the lead after just five minutes of play.
Aaron Hughes was forced to concede a corner down Fulham's left flank and from the resulting set-piece left back Paulaskas leapt at the far post to head the ball goalwards. The home crowd went wild but fortunately Mark Schwarzer was alert to parry the effort off the line and a penalty area scramble ensued before the ball was cleared to safety.
It was a fortunate let-off for Fulham but just seconds later, on the counter attack, Andrew Johnson rounded Vetra keeper Valincius on the by-line. Johnson's centre was cleared to safety before Fulham's midfield could latch onto the opportunity.
It was certainly a testing physical encounter against FK Vetra and the home side were in buoyant mood, passing the ball around with confidence during the opening exchanges. The home crowd wildly applauded any Vetra forward momentum as Fulham tried to bring some calm to proceedings. Brede Hangeland almost silenced the home support after nine minutes, heading just wide from 10 yards following Paul Konchesky's lung-bursting run down the left flank.
After 15 minutes of play Zoltan Gera tried his luck from 30 yards with a powerful right-footed drive. The Hungarian's effort was heading towards the roof of the net and had caught Valincius cold but the keeper just managed to recover his position and parry the ball away.
Bobby Zamora was handed a fine opportunity on goal after 24 minutes following a superb pass from Danny Murphy which cut the opposition's defence to shreds. Murphy collected the ball 30 yards from goal and with the outside of his boot delivered an inch perfect pass into Zamora's path on the left hand side of the area. Zamora connected but Valincius was well positioned to collect with ease.
The home support were less than happy when Ngapounou was booked for sarcastically applauding the referee following a decision against Vetra in the centre of the pitch.
As the game approached the half hour mark Fulham gradually took control of proceedings as the home side's enthusiastic early charge receded. Andy Johnson was in lively mood, twisting and turning his markers in the final third with ease. However the end result was proving hard to come by in the first half.
Johnson almost put a finishing touch on Zoltan Gera cross from the right after 34 minutes as the ball zipped along the six yard line past a host of players. Two minutes later Clint Dempsey burst through midfield and fired a right footed shot just wide of Valincius right hand post. Fulham were getting closer by the minute.
FK Vetra were certainly not short of energy and bite during the first half. The home side constantly nipped at the heels when Fulham were in possession and pressed hard to allow the Whites no time on the ball.
Four minutes before half-time Andy Johnson cut the ball back from the right by-line to Zoltan Gera in a central position. Gera stabbed his effort goalwards but yet again the ball went outside of the post.
Bobby Zamora made no mistake two minutes before the break, slotting the ball home from sixteen yards with a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net. The chance came from another incisive Danny Murphy pass. Murphy's through ball was weighted perfectly and Zamora put the Whites ahead at the end of a bruising first half.
Fulham got the second half underway and the Whites line-up remained the same. The home side made one change, replacing Ngapounou with Stanaitis in central midfield.
After a quiet start to the second period Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson combined superbly in the final third to create an opening. The ball was played into Zamora’s feet 30 yards from goal and the striker ghosted the pass to set Johnson free in the area. Johnson was unfortunately denied by a superb last-ditch tackle in the box.
Barely a minute later Fulham doubled their lead from the penalty spot. A cross from the left found Zamora in the area and the striker was wrestled to the floor by Jankauskas 10 yards from goal. The Referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Danny Murphy stepped up to fire the ball into the left hand corner of the net.
FK Vetra made an immediate substitution after Fulham had taken a two-nil lead. Striker Vasiliauskas was replaced by Moroz. Grigaitis led the FK Vetra line whilst Moroz took up an attacking central midfield position.
Roy Hodgson made his first substitution of the game after 68 minutes, replacing Andrew Johnson with Erik Nevland.
Following Nevland's introduction Fulham enjoyed a sustained period of attacking football. Camped inside FK Vetra's half the Whites zipped the ball around as the home side appeared to wilt as the game wore on.
The contest was held up on 73 minutes when Grigaitis had to be stretchered from the pitch after suffering cramp. The striker could not continue and Eliosius was introduced to the fray.
During the later stages of the game Roy Hodgson introduced Bjorn Helge Riise and Seol Ki-Hyeon for Danny Murphy and Clint Dempsey respectively. Seol made an immediate impact, scoring with a superb strike from the edge of the area after 85 minutes to put Fulham three-nil up.
Erik Nevland and Bobby Zamora went close in the final minutes with shots from inside the area as Fulham took complete control.
After a testing first 45 minutes Fulham completed the first half of their Third Round Qualifier in convincing fashion and will return to the Cottage next Thursday with a three goal advantage.
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II მატჩი
ფულჰემი - ვეტრა 3-0
ეტუხუ 57, ჯონსონი 80, 84 წუთებზე...
Fulham secured a place in Friday's Europa draw following a three-nil win over FK Vetra at Craven Cottage on Thursday night. Teams Fulham Mark Schwarzer, Paul Konchesky, John Pantsil, Brede Hangeland, Andrew Johnson, Zoltan Gera, Danny Murphy ©, Aaron Hughes, Dickson Etuhu, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Zamora
Subs: David Stockdale (GK), Stephen Kelly, Chris Baird, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Erik Nevland, Bjorn Helge Riise, Eddie Johnson
FK Vetra Povilas Valincius, Valdemar Borovskij ©, Tadas Kijanskas, Algis Jankauskas, evаldas Grigaitis, Gediminas Paulauskas, Nerijus Vasiliauskas, Robertas Vezevicius, Marius Stanaitis, Tomas Razanauskas, Mindaugas Grigalevicius
Subs: Mantas Galdikas (GK), Janusz Bucholc, Bertrand Ngapounou, Jevgenji Moroz, Arturas Zulpa, Gajus Kulbis, Tadas Eliosius
Match Report
The Club, players and supporters paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson before kick-off by observing a one-minute silence to the legendary former Fulham player and England manager.
The visitors from Vilnius got the game underway on an extremely slick surface. A severe downpour preceded kick-off at Craven Cottage on a humid summer evening.
After just two minutes of play Bobby Zamora produced a superb turn and shot on the edge of the area which flew just wide of goal. It was a great piece of skill by the striker early on which almost extended Fulham's aggregate lead.
Fulham were camped inside FK Vetra’s half during the opening exchanges. Quick one-touch passing created the space with Dempsey and Konchesky enjoying the freedom to exploit the space down the left flank.
After Fulham’s early surge the game entered a quiet phase but after 11 minutes Razanauskas fired in a long-range effort, which was heading for the roof of the net. Fortunately Schwarzer was well positioned to tip the ball over the cross bar.
To their credit, Fulham’s goal advantage from the first leg certainly didn’t affect FK Vetra’s enthusiasm and energy for the tie. On 21 minutes left back Paulauskas launched a 35-yard left-footed shot on goal from the left channel that whistled just wide of Schwarzer’s near post.
Five minutes after Paulauskas’ thunderous effort Fulham almost broke the deadlock twice in as many minutes. First Bobby Zamora tried the spectacular when he attempted to volley the ball goalwards as it dropped over his left shoulder. The ball skimmed wide but it was a worthy effort by the striker.
Seconds later Dempsey drifted down the left flank before producing a superbly disguised reverse pass to Konchesky. Konchesky’s cross was met in the area by Johnson whose headed effort came back off the crossbar. Gera attempted to fire in the rebound but his shot was blocked on the line.
On the half hour mark, Paul Konchesky almost produced an early contender for goal of the season. The left back collected the ball 30 yards from goal down the left flank and as he assessed his options the home crowd screamed ‘shoot’. ‘Konch’ duly obliged and his shot screamed just wide of the far post.
Five minutes before the break Clint Dempsey latched onto Johnson’s cross from the right and executed a fine half volley from the edge of the area. The ball had FK Vetra keeper Valincius beaten but the ball was always rising and the American’s effort flew above the bar.
Fulham certainly enjoyed the majority of possession and chances in the first half but failed to deliver a cutting edge to extend their three-nil aggregate lead before the Referee’s whistle blew for half time.
Fulham remained unchanged for the second half and immediately set about attacking towards the Hammersmith End. After barely a minute Johnson fired the ball into the back of the net from the centre of the area but the Referee’s whistle had already blown for an earlier infringement.
Two minutes later Bobby Zamora was next to try his luck with a shot from the left hand side of the area, which was deflected just wide for a corner. From the resulting set piece Fulham’s players were appealing for a penalty followed an alleged handball but the Referee waved play on.
The breakthrough eventually came after 56 minutes when Etuhu met Murphy’s corner and sent a glancing header into the far corner of the net. Etuhu, absent from last week’s away leg due to the birth of his child, celebrated with a customary cradle rock amongst his team mates.
Andy Johnson was certainly looking to make his mark on Thursday night. The striker’s movement was impressive, constantly looking to exploit any space down the channels. Gera and Johnson were certainly on the same wavelength with the Hungarian producing a host of angled passes into the striker’s path from midfield.
The downpour continued during the second half and almost verged on the tropical as the game entered the final twenty minutes. On 73 minutes Gera was left grounded after a fifty-fifty challenge with Paulauskas down the left flank. Gera returned to the action after treatment on the sidelines.
Bobby Zamora produced another superb turn on the half way line to set himself free on goal with fifteen minutes remaining. As the striker entered the area he selflessly crossed the ball to the incoming Johnson. The pace of the ball just beat Johnson as it skidded across the six-yard line.
With thirteen minutes remaining Hodgson made two changes, introducing Stephen Kelly and Bjorn Helge Riise for John Pantsil and Zoltan Gera respectively.
Johnson doubled Fulham’s lead ten minutes from time, latching on to Dempsey’s cross from the left to fire the ball home from close range to increase the Whites lead to two-nil.
Johnson’s strike partner Bobby Zamora was replaced by Eddie Johnson with nine minutes remaining. Two minutes later Andy Johnson grabbed his second goal of the game. Eddie Johnson created the chance with a cross from the left, which Andy Johnson tapped in from close range.
The Hammersmith End’s chant of ‘there’s only one Bobby Robson’ during the closing stages of the game was a fitting end to Thursday night’s European tie.
Fulham’s three-nil win at the Cottage secured a six-nil aggregate score line against their Lithuanian opponents and Roy Hodgson’s team will find out their next European opponents in Friday’s Europa draw.
Roy's Reaction
“All teams make matches difficult if they work hard and are organised and get players back behind the ball. I have to say our attitude and approach was right from the very first minute.
At half time we could have quite easily been leading and I don’t think the score line flatters us particularly. I thought we were very good value for our three goals.
“These games can really be unpleasant banana skins if your attitude is not spot on and if you don’t play good football you can slip up but I was pleased of course with result and that we’re through.
“I’m also pleased with the quality of our football tonight. The quality of our passing and movement was very good. It got us three goals and it could have got us a lot more.
"The quality of our passing and movement was really a little bit too good for them and as the game wears on and they start to tire that’s when the chances mount up. The most important thing for me was the way we approached the game.
"We got another good 90 minutes very good fitness out of it. It was an excellent final game before our opening game of the season against Portsmouth.
“Next week of course we lose a lot of players to international football so it was this week really that gave us our last chance to prepare and work with the eleven who might be starting against Portsmouth because so many of that eleven will disappear next week.”
სერ ბობი...
P.S. 1 0 0 0 !!!
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ფულჰემი, Fulham
