Fulham fall to Middlesbrough 2-0

Fulham ran out an unchanged lineup from Wednesday. It certainly is nice to be done with Felix Lineup Bingo, and after the success they had midweek, why change? The first half was fairly even Fulham controlled possession but Middlesbrough led on shots (4-2).

Middlesbrough came out for the second half on the front foot. The doubled their shot total in the first 15 minutes and scored an early goal. Symons countered by bringing on the George Williams for the more defensive Kostas Stafylidis. This managed to turn the game, giving Fulham more width and more bit to their attack.

The next 20 minutes were all Fulham. Tim Hoogland hit the bar on a corner. George Williams was able to play Hugo through who barely shot over the bar. In the 70th minute Symons made another positive change bringing on Patrick Roberts for another dash of speed.

If anything Fulham turned up the pressure from 70th-80th minute. Lasse Vigen Christensen had a shot blocked off the line. Ross McCormack had a shot saved. It was all Fulham who were unlucky not to equalize.

In the 80th minute Fernando Amorebieta came down with a knock and Kit Symons decided to be super positive in his sub. He brought on Matt Smith rather than a defender and decided to go three at the back. I liked the move to go for a result. Unfortunately Fulham were caught out on a counter and Middlesbrough were able to double their lead.

Down 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to play Fulham didn't give up, but the game was lost. I'm not so down on this performance. Kit seemed to handle the game exactly as I would have. I don't think there was much he could do different. I only hope this isn't a black mark against him in his quest to earn the full time position.