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Ipswich Town hold out against Fulham fightback to make winning start Ipswich Town hold out against Fulham fightback to make winning start
(35 minutes later)
Welcome back, Fulham and, yes, the Championship is harder than you might have remembered. This is an unforgiving league, one that punishes even the smallest of weaknesses, and Fulham had plenty of those on show at Portman Road. While it is too early to make definitive judgements about any side, Felix Magath should definitely be worried by Fulham’s lack of quality. Welcome back, Fulham, and yes, the Championship is harder than you might have remembered. This is an unforgiving league, one that punishes even the smallest of weaknesses, and Fulham had plenty of those on display here. While it is far too early to make definitive judgements about any side, Felix Magath should definitely be worried by Fulham’s lack of quality and their failure to match Ipswich for commitment and endeavour.
Fulham were playing their first match outside the Premier League in 13 years and, while Magath could argue that they are a work in progress, they need to find their feet quickly, or opponents will take as much delight in playing them as Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town did. The one consolation for Magath was the way his team roused themselves after Tim Hoogland’s late deflected strike set up a frantic finale, but Ipswich clung on for an impressive victory. It was Fulham’s first match outside the Premier League in 13 years and while Magath could argue that they are a work in progress, they need to find their feet quickly, or else opponents will take as much delight in playing them as Mick McCarthy’s side did. The one consolation for Magath was the way his team roused themselves after Tim Hoogland’s late deflected strike set up a frantic finale, but Ipswich clung on for an impressive victory.
After a summer of upheaval, there were unfamiliar faces everywhere you looked in the Fulham side. Eight players were making their debuts, several youngsters had been promoted from the club’s excellent academy and Hugo Rodallega – who started on the bench – was the only survivor in the squad from Fulham’s opening-day victory against Sunderland last season. Clearly patience was going to be required. “I’m glad, not very glad, but glad about our performance today,” the German said. “It has shown in my opinion that we are on the right way. We have a lot of young players. They are not used to being tackled as [they were] today.”
Magath, who has made little effort to disguise how unimpressed he has been with the running of the club in the past year, likes to do things his way. The German says Fulham will be fine if there is no interference, everyone listens to him, and no one moans about his gruelling training sessions. He has, after all, twice won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. However, it was disconcerting to hear Magath questioning Ross McCormack’s fitness given that the forward was the Championship’s top scorer last year. McCormack was anonymous during his 57 minutes on the pitch and it seems strange that he would not be up to speed after his £11m move from Leeds United. Fulham had a similar problem with Kostas Mitroglou last season.
Yet he could not save Fulham from relegation after replacing René Meulensteen in February, and the signs were not encouraging here when Jesse Joronen – the 21-year-old Finn making his debut in goal – was nervily knocking a clearance out for a corner early on and arguing with his new pals in the Fulham defence. At least Joronen was feeling happier after making a brilliant save from Christophe Berra’s looping header a few minutes later. “I told you before that Ross came with a lack of fitness,” Magath said. “He has to improve his fitness. He is not on the level of other players. He has come too late and he is not in the right shape at the moment. There are 45 games left. It is not a big problem.”
Cole Skuse then sent a volley inches over but Fulham gradually settled, despite their lack of cohesion, with Chris David using the ball intelligently in midfield. Yet Ross McCormack – their £11m summer signing from Leeds United and the Championship’s top scorer last season – was isolated alongside Moussa Dembélé, who wasted Fulham’s best chance of the first half, when he failed to convert the rebound after keeper Dean Gerken fumbled David’s shot. How Fulham would have loved for the ball to drop to McCormack. Then came the complaints about the performance of the referee, Stephen Martin, Magath claiming that his players did not receive enough protection.
In fairness, Gerken did well to react to his error and spread himself, but Dembélé was too casual, and Ipswich made him regret his profligacy when Fulham conceded possession cheaply in midfield after 32 minutes. Luke Hyam broke clear and fed Daryl Murphy, who sped past the flat-footed Shaun Hutchinson with embarrassing ease, before crunching an emphatic finish past Joronen. McCarthy smiled. “Only 45 to go!” he said. “It’s the Championship. There was no real nasty tackles. There’s plenty more of those games to come.”
Without ever suggesting they are going to take the division by storm, Ipswich deserved to be in front. They are a team without ego, organised and diligent, one that worked hard for each other, snapped into their tackles and attacked eagerly. Their owner, Marcus Evans, used his programme notes to express his delight that McCarthy has signed a new three-year deal, and their supporters liked what they saw. McCarthy was right and the real problem for Fulham was the number of unfamiliar faces in the side. Eight players were making their debuts, several youngsters were promoted from the club’s excellent academy and Hugo Rodallega, an unused substitute, was the only survivor from Fulham’s victory against Sunderland on the opening day last season. Magath confirmed that Fulham’s Dutch goalkeeper, Maarten Stekelenburg, has joined Monaco on loan.
They did have a scare early in the second half, when Konstantinos Stafylidis’s volley, from 25 yards out, scorched over the bar – and there were times when Fulham pushed them back – but Ipswich were mostly comfortable, even more so when McCormack was replaced by young Cauley Woodrow after 57 minutes. However, they will not be encouraged by this performance. Ipswich were almost ahead after four minutes when Christophe Berra’s looping header forced Jesse Joronen, the 21-year-old Finnish debutant, to make a brilliant save, before Cole Skuse looped a volley over. McCormack was starved of service and when a chance fell to his partner, Moussa Dembélé, after Dean Gerken fumbled Chris David’s shot, he was too casual.
Indeed, they carried the greater threat at times, and David McGoldrick – who replaced the injured Balint Bajner just before half-time – was a handful with his willingness to use his pace and run into the channels. McGoldrick did not take long to make an impact and his goal, after 61 minutes, summed up the difference between the sides. Murphy bullied the increasingly hapless Fulham defence into submission on the left and, although his low cross into the six-yard box was turned away, the ball broke to McGoldrick, who rammed it through the bodies and past Joronen. Daryl Murphy showed Dembélé how it is done after 32 minutes. Luke Hyam broke clear and fed Murphy, who sped past the flat-footed Shaun Hutchinson with embarrassing ease, before crunching an emphatic finish past Joronen.Without ever suggesting that they are going to take the division by storm, Ipswich deserved to be in front. They are a team without ego, organised and diligent, one that worked hard for each other, snapped into their tackles and attacked eagerly. Their owner, Marcus Evans, used his programme notes to express his delight that McCarthy has signed a new three-year deal and their supporters liked what they saw.
Fulham’s shoulders slumped and as the captain, Scott Parker, picked the ball out of the net and traipsed back to the centre circle, he looked like he knew it is going to be a long season, even though Ipswich were hanging on at the end. They did have a scare early in the second half when Konstantinos Stafylidis’s volley from 25 yards scorched over the crossbar, but Ipswich were mostly comfortable and doubled their lead after 61 minutes.
David McGoldrick was only fit enough to start on the bench but he replaced Balint Bajner and when Murphy’s cross broke to him, he drove the ball firmly past Joronen.
Ipswich were hanging on at the end and Patrick Roberts, on as a substitute, almost snatched an undeserved equaliser. Magath said he was glad, not too glad, but he may well have been saying something different behind closed doors.