Fulham fight back to deny Villa after Suzuki error

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ALVARO ARBELOA’S Fulham have been a real mixed bag so far this season, and the Saturday night kick-off presented the Fulham manager with a difficult away game at Villa Park, where Unai Emery is building somewhat of a fortress with the Villains not suffering a defeat there since September 12.

So the Fulham boss would have been the happier of the two coaches, with the game ending 1-1 as his side came from a goal down to earn a hard-fought point in a match that had looked like a lost cause before Zion Suzuki’s second-half howler.

“I am so happy for the second half because of my players, and this is the team that we want to be,” stated Arbeloa after seeing his team produce a spirited display in the second half to warm the travelling support on a bitterly cold night in Birmingham.

Fulham hadn’t beaten Aston Villa at Villa Park since May 26, 2018, in a Championship play-off match, while Villa had won eight of their previous 10 games against the Cottagers. This game rarely looked like breaking that trend, with the home side seemingly the most likely to make the breakthrough early on.

The sixth minute saw Leon Goretzka climb highest to send his header from a John McGinn corner over the bar, and five minutes later, a carbon-copy effort from the same corner taker was this time headed on target by the ex-Bayern man and straight into the hands of Bernd Leno, with VAR intervening due to a raised hand by Sander Berge.

Referee Sam Barrott was sent to the screen with the inevitable penalty being awarded.

Villa captain McGinn stepped up to take the spot kick, but his attempt to place his shot high into the corner of the net resulted in his effort cannoning off the bar and away from danger.

The away side were not without their own chances, and on the half-hour, the marauding Antonee Robinson took off on one of his trademark lung-busting runs down the left before sliding a ball across the edge of the box which Gonzalo Garcia stepped over, leaving the ball to run to Oscar Bobb.

The ex-Man City starlet took one touch before getting off a prodded shot towards goal that looked destined for the roof of the net, but Suzuki’s outstretched hand somehow flicked the ball over the bar.

The home side did take the lead on the 38th minute when a forward pass from Matty Cash in towards Alysson’s feet was missed by Fulham centre-back David Affengruber, when the Austrian looked favourite to intercept the pass.

The ball fell at the feet of the impressive Johan Manzambi, who moved it left to Nicolas Jackson. Jackson had isolated Timothy Castagne and drove the Fulham defender back into the box before bamboozling him with some tricky footwork and sliding a composed right-footed shot into the bottom corner of Leno’s net.

The second half saw Arbeloa’s side come out with an increased urgency about their play with them taking the game to Villa.

Bobb was the main protagonist down the right causing the Villains defence problems, so it was fitting that it was his corner that led to the Fulham equaliser.

Bobb’s high corner delivery looked like a fairly routine catch for the previously impressive Suzuki, who rose under his bar to claim the ball with no players within five yards of him. Somehow, though, the Japanese summer signing fumbled it over the line and despite his best efforts to rescue his error, referee Barrott signalled that the goal had been given, granting Fulham a thoroughly deserved equaliser.

“This is part of football” replied Emery when asked about his keeper’s blunder after the game.

“We are mature enough to know that we are making mistakes as players. I prefer to focus on his save today against Oscar Bobb,” he went on to say, referring to the save in the first half.