The main talking point when the line-ups were announced at 2pm at Molineux on Saturday was Fulham’s strength in depth. Arguably, the west London club fielded one of the strongest matchday squads in the club’s Premier League history.
Joao Palhinha, who had missed Fulham’s wins over Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion, was unable to reclaim his starting spot. The form of Sasa Lukic and Harrison Reed meant he was consigned to the bench.
Advertisement
That is quite an about-turn. After a long period of concern about midfield and attacking options, Fulham’s squad felt far more durable than it had done for a long time. In the dugout, in addition to Palhinha, was Willian, Tom Cairney, Adama Traore and Armando Broja. As Gary O’Neil put it at full time, Fulham had an “unbelievable bench”.
This was in stark contrast to Wolves, who were missing top goalscorers Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha. For much of the season, O’Neil’s team have battled without a recognised No 9 and injuries have compounded matters. It meant on Saturday that 19-year-old academy graduate Nathan Fraser led the Wolves attack from kick-off for the first time. Broja, the striker they tried to sign in January, sat on the Fulham bench.
On paper, then, Fulham had the edge. By half-time, the result appeared to be a given.
Wolves were on the ropes. Their injury crisis had deepened during the first half as they lost Pedro Neto to a hamstring issue and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to a knee problem. They were left to field a defensive midfielder, Mario Lemina, as an unorthodox forward.
As the teams went into the tunnel, Fulham looked in pole position. They had eight shots on goal to Wolves’ one, two of which were clear-cut openings.
How they conspired to lose this match, from that point, is baffling.
“It is difficult to explain because one of the things we discussed at half-time was that we had to start differently,” said Marco Silva. “I wasn’t happy with the way we started the first half. It was really strange at the start of the second half.
“Our build-up was too slow. We lost the ball in areas that we cannot lose it. It created momentum for them. They started to win the ball and have some good transitions — won from our build-up. We were punished.”
Wolves brought bite to the second half. They came out with a greater intensity and caught Fulham off guard. They were resilient, disciplined and in the face of adversity, they rallied rather than wilted. That’s credit to O’Neil, while Lemina, in particular, was exceptional.
Advertisement
But Fulham’s performance at the start of the second half felt inexplicable, especially when it felt like the game was there for the taking. Fulham entered this game after one defeat in six and back-to-back victories. They knew three points would put them level with Wolves and closer to the conversation about the European spots. This was an opportunity to strike.
But it was one that was passed up. It was not a poor performance. Fulham created two good chances in the first half, missed by Harry Wilson and Tosin Adarabioyo and then, after the break, Jose Sa made five saves, two of which were outstanding.
But they missed their chances while Wolves ruthlessly took theirs. Instead of the first half proving decisive, it would be the 15-minute period after the restart that mattered instead. In that moment, Fulham were lackadaisical, veering close to complacent, and Wolves took advantage. It was a high turnover that led to the free kick which preceded the opening goal, and then Joao Gomes breezed past three players without meeting a firm challenge, ahead of the second.
Silva turned to that strong bench and shuffled the team’s shape, trying to commit players to overrun the deep 5-4-1 set-up Wolves had adopted after taking a comfortable lead. Silva fielded two strikers, Broja alongside Rodrigo Muniz, while Adama Traore was used as a makeshift full-back. It looked disjointed, albeit they created some openings. Fulham rallied but by then it was too late.
“Even with a different system, we tried everything, to put some more offensive players on the pitch,” said Silva. “We created enough chances to come back. There were some great saves by Sa. But we were not enough. The game is 95 to 100 minutes. We have been punished by the lack of concentration and focus in the first 15 minutes of the second half.”
Marco gives his assessment.March 9, 2024
Fundamentally, this performance struck at the heart of why Fulham have not been able to join clubs like Wolves who are targeting the top half and European positions. They are just far too inconsistent, both overall and within certain games.
Heading into this fixture, Fulham were on their best run of the season and were beginning to kindle some momentum. That is hard to find in a league this competitive and any streak can make a big impact on a team’s position. Fulham have won back-to-back games at one other stage in the season, in December.
Advertisement
They had the chance to build up a head of steam here and they let it slide. Fulham are a good team, better than the relegation battlers. But to sustain a top-half finish, you need that bit extra — characteristics Wolves showed to secure the win.
“That’s been the difference for us to not be in a (higher) position,” said Silva. “We were creating a moment. We spoke in the week that it is really difficult at this level to be consistent.
“Sometimes when you are in a good moment, for some players it is easy to lose the focus and concentration. We spoke in the week about it, and before the match, and at half-time. That’s the big disappointment for us, for me and for our dressing room. The reality is that it happened again. That’s the bad part of our season, these moments.
“I don’t want to take credit from Wolves. They fought and did their best. But we lost this game this afternoon. This has to make us frustrated.”
GO DEEPER
From Wolves to Fulham, Adama Traore remains an enigma… and he remains on the bench
(Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)