Barclays Premier League – Match Review: Blackpool versus Fulham
Blackpool successfully held Fulham to a draw in their third Premier League encounter of the season. The Tangerines approached the match after their dreadful defeat against Arsenal by six goals to nil at the Emirates stadium whereas Fulham played their last league match with Manchester United, a tie which ended in a point each for both the English clubs.
Fulham lined up with their conventional 4-4-2 formation with the big Englishman Bobby Zamora leading the line along with Dembele. Duff played as the left winger for Mark Hughes’s team while Murphy and Etuhu played as the playmakers in central midfield. Simon Davies played on the right side of midfield for the Cottagers. Hughes and Hangeland continued their successful partnership in the middle of defence for Fulham whilst Pantsil and Kelly played as the wing backs. In goal for Fulham was their newly found talent of Stockdale.
Alternatively, Ian Holloway’s side Blackpool F.C adopted a 4-3-3 formation for their English Premier League match. Varney played as the left sided forward for the Seasiders while Ormerod provided Blackpool with width on the right. Taylor-Fletcher played as Blackpool’s main fulcrum of attack supported by Vaughan and Grandin in creative midfield positions. Moreover, Adam acted as a shield in front of the back four of Evatt, Cathcart, Baptiste and Crainey. Gilks played as the goalkeeper for the newly promoted English Premier League side.
Blackpool started as the stronger of the two clubs at the start of the first half and quickly forced the first corner of the match in the opening five minutes but they were unable to capitalize on their superiority by penetrating in behind the Fulham defence. Bobby Zamora soon started becoming a nuisance for the Blackpool defenders and in the 33rd minute of the match, he broke the deadlock by expertly finishing off Dembele’s cross with a header.
After Zamora’s goal, Fulham took charge of the match and started to slow down the tempo to their liking especially in the second half of the match. It was quickly quite evident that there was a difference in class as far as the two club sides were concerned. Nonetheless, Blackpool rallied forward during the later stages of the second half spurred on by their fans in Orange which were spread throughout the Bloomfield Road stadium. Unfortunately for Fulham in the 59th minute of the match Bobby Zamora sustained a back injury after clashing with the Blackpool defence in mid air as a precaution Mark Hughes took his threatening centre forward off and replaced him with Clint Dempsey as Fulham made their first substitution of the match.
In the 63rd minute of the match, Ian Holloway also made his first change of the match as he brought on Eardley for Evatt in Blackpool’s defence. Zamora’s withdrawal from the game gave Blackpool confidence as in the 71st minute of the match; Pantsil was at fault for the London club as the defender pushed the ball into the back of his own net in an attempt to top Varney’s shot from going over the goal line.
Blackpool gathered strength from there on in and shortly after in the 76th minute, Varney gave Ian Holloway’s side a lead after he clinically finished off a through ball which was fed to him by Blackpool’s midfield. In the 81st minute of the match, Hughes introduced Gera into Fulham’s midfield as the Hungarian replaced the aging Danny Murphy. Gera’s introduction sparked life into Fulham as in the 86th minute of the match, Etuhu got Fulham’s equalizing goal after knocking the ball past Stockdale into Blackpool’s empty goal, assist for the goal went to Dembele again who passed the ball into Etuhu’s path.
At the end of the match both the teams were level on two goals and therefore only obtained a point each after the Premier League match ended in a draw at the Bloomfield Road stadium.
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