Coventry 4-1 Fulham

It was a tough day in the office for Fulham on Saturday as Coventry scored four second half goals to claim the three points.

The Whites went ahead courtesy of a Kyle McFadzean own goal which took us into the break in front. 

But Coventry raced out of the traps and turned the game on its head at the beginning of the second period with goals from Viktor Gyökeres and Matty Godden, before Ian Maatsen and another Gyökeres goal put the game out of reach.

There was a trio of changes deployed by Marco Silva in light of a busy playing period, with two of those coming in the backline. Antonee Robinson returned after a slight knock, whilst Alfie Mawson came in for his first League start of the campaign. Josh Onomah replaced Jean Michaël Seri in the third swap.

Ahead of kick-off, fans from both sides gathered around the Jimmy Hill statue, paying their tributes to a legendary man who is remembered fondly at both Clubs.

Fulham started on the front foot with pressure down the left early doors. Robinson and Neeskens Kebano linked up well to conjure a crossing opportunity on two minutes, which the former took on. His ball found Harry Wilson’s head, but he could only steer over under challenge.

Coventry bounced back though and applied some threat of their own moments later, when Mawson had to be on his toes to prevent a direct ball into the box. The Sky Blues were using their size to their advantage, looping the ball into the air at every opportunity as they attempted to disrupt the Fulham rhythm.

Coventry corners were proving to be a decent threat, and on the 10-minute mark there were a couple of half-chances as a result. First, Godden’s drive at goal was blocked, before Gyökeres saw a wall of black shirts after Godden had pulled it back 10 yards from goal.

Silva was pushing his side forward from the sidelines, and a handy spell of Fulham possession followed as we attempted to get in front. From a free-kick, Wilson’s ball in was cleared in the latest breakthrough attempt.

After 17 minutes came the first sight of goal for our man in form, Aleksandar Mitrović. After Robinson applied the burners to surge through the middle, the ball found its way to our big man, who poked towards Simon Moore’s net.

From the corner was our opener of the day, with a big involvement from the Serb. Kebano’s in swinger caused panic and, under firm Mitrović pressure, McFadzean nodded into his own net to give Fulham the lead.

The goal seemed to settle the Whites, who zipped the ball around nicely now in the misty rain as we searched for a second. Yet another corner caused problems for Coventry after 25 minutes, as Denis Odoi leapt highest, but didn’t get enough purchase on his header.

Perhaps our greatest sequence of play came with 10 minutes of the half to go. Bobby De Cordova-Reid gave it to Mitrović on the halfway line, before a brilliant backheel sent Wilson on his way. He squared to Kebano who got his shot off, but there wasn’t enough power to trouble Moore.

There was time for a blast on goal from De Cordova-Reid just before the break. After picking the ball up far from goal, our Jamaican international had a pop from 30-yards, requiring a smart stop from the Coventry number one.

Up the other end, a rapid counterattack sent Maatsen on his way down the left, needing a super Odoi block on the slide to prevent it heading goalwards.

The second half started with an equaliser for Coventry. After a mix-up between Tim Ream and Onomah, Gyökeres found himself looking at an empty net as the ball was squared past Gazzaniga by Callum O’Hare.

And minutes later it got a whole lot worse for Fulham as the game was flipped on its head. After the ball wasn’t cleared effectively, Robinson was adjudged to have tripped his man in the scramble and it was a penalty to Coventry, which Godden tucked away.

Silva’s side tried to establish some kind of calm in amongst the chaos, with Harrison Reed popping up in some neat positions high up the field, but there was to be more pain inflicted by the home side just after the hour mark.

Fankaty Dabo’s floated cross caused trouble in the backline and, after the ball was nodded clear, Maatsen latched onto the loose pickings to rifle into the opposite corner from the left.

The Whites kept pushing and were always going to be vulnerable on the counter as a result, and with 20 minutes to play Coventry made it four. After winning it on the halfway line the ball was worked towards goal, and Gyökeres slotted home confidently for his second of the day.

We go again after the international break with another early kick-off versus QPR at the Cottage on Saturday 16th October.