Fulham vs West Bromwich Albion. Premier League.
Craven Cottage.
Report as Fulham secure first Premier League win of season; Scott Parker's side out of relegation zone thanks to goals from Bobby Decordova-Reid and Ola Aina; West Brom still waiting for first league win of season; Slaven Bilic's side drop below Fulham and slip into bottom three
Tuesday 3 November 2020 06:20, UK
Fulham secured their first win of the Premier League season thanks to a 2-0 victory against West Brom at Craven Cottage.
The damage was done in four first-half minutes as Bobby Decordova-Reid's header (26) and Ola Aina's thunderbolt (30) saw Fulham storm into the lead.
Karlan Grant wasted a glorious chance to bring West Brom back into the game just before half-time, and there was no way back for Slaven Bilic's side, who remain without a league win this season, after the break.
Victory sees Fulham, who were denied a late third by goal-line clearances from Conor Townsend and Semi Ajayi, move out of the relegation zone and above West Brom, who slip into the bottom three.
West Brom almost took an early lead when Townsend's cross caught Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola out but, luckily for the hosts, the ball struck the crossbar.
Parker talked ahead of the game about the importance of his side getting the first goal in games and they did just that, taking a well-deserved lead in the 26th minute.
Antonee Robinson's cross picked out Aleksandar Mitrovic at the far post, and the striker nodded the ball back across goal for Decordova-Reid to turn home.
Minutes later, Fulham doubled their lead through Aina, and it was a stunner. Decordova-Reid and Mitrovic combined again before Aina's strike from just outside the penalty area arrowed past the dive of Sam Johnstone and into the top corner.
West Brom did have a glorious chance to grab a lifeline just before the break when Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was caught in possession by Sam Gallagher. The ball was fed straight into the path of Grant, but the striker's shot drifted wide of the near post.
There wasn't much of a response from the visitors after the break with Fulham goalkeeper Areola largely untested.
Fulham went close to a third in the 80th minute when first Cairney was denied on the goal-line by Townsend after Johnstone had come off his line and failed to get the ball. Then, Derrodova-Reid was denied a second as Ajayi, who was also on the goal-line, blocked the rebound.
West Brom, who produced just one shot on target all night, could not muster a response int he final moments as Fulham eased to their first league win of the campaign.
Fulham boss Scott Parker: "Of course there is relief because we had not won a game. We have won but along the journey there are going to be many bumps. There has been a narrative around us because of the money we spent last time. But there has been a single-mindedness about us this season. Defeats are going to happen, but they can't bury us.
"The noise surrounds everyone in this league. My message is very different: try not to let the noise reach the players. Wins breed a bit of confidence - you need wins to get that uplift. We definitely got what we deserved. We are definitely maturing and definitely improving. We got a result and it is brilliant, but we have to keep moving forward."
West Brom boss Slaven Bilic: "The lads have been good in training, but we only played for 25 minutes. They were better than us in everything, one v one, two v two, passing the ball, aggression and commitment, everything really and I'm extremely disappointed - we can't play like this.
"We have to be what we were in the last couple of games. You lose a bit of commitment when you see that the opponent is stronger than you. They were better and I'm really disappointed.
"It's worrying - not the points or position, but the performance. Everything starts with the work rate, commitment, dedication and we simply didn't match them and have to work much, much harder. We don't have the most quality. If we work harder, we will have a chance in many games."
On his 50th league appearance for Fulham (including play-offs), Bobby Decordova-Reid netted Fulham's opener but he also worked tirelessly for his side's cause.
He has now scored two goals in his last five league games for the Cottagers, as many as in his previous 25.
Fulham are unbeaten in their last 10 league meetings with West Brom (W4 D6) since a 1-2 loss in the Premier League in October 2010.
Fulham have picked up their first victory and clean sheet in the Premier League since April 2019 against Cardiff (1-0), ending their eight-game winless run in the top-flight.
West Brom haven't won away at Fulham in the league since October 1967 (2-1), drawing seven and losing 10 of their 17 visits since then.
With just three points from their opening seven Premier League games this season (D3 L4), West Brom have made their worst start to a league campaign since 1985-86 (one point), failing to win any of their opening seven games for the first time since 2004-05.
Fulham travel to West Ham on Saturday November 7 in an 8pm kick-off, while West Brom are home to Tottenham on Sunday November 8, live on Sky Sports Box Office, with a 12pm kick-off.
