Fulham come up short; lose 1-0 to Millwall

If I would have told you that Fulham would have 15 shots inside the 18 yards box and only five of those were blocked/deflected you would probably have expected Fulham to be on the better end of the score line. Noting that Fulham outshot the Lions on a 24/11 ratio is enough to give credence to that thought. However albeit luck or skill no goal was found.

It wouldn't have been all bad as Fulham easily had themselves a draw through the match. But a Cameron Burgess slight misplay on a header into the box and Martyn Woolford got to it and put it home for the difference in the match.

I know they now sit with 0 points after two matches and it's easy to become rather downtrodden about how things are looking with the results. But looking beyond them and the important things that truly matter. Fulham did everything except put the ball in the back of the net, and yeah, sure, that matters. But only on the results level.

The real take away from this most recent disappointed is that Fulham comes away with points 8 or even 9 out of 10 times this match is played. This outcome is a very small probable outcome from the scenario that just played out. Which sucks. But would you rather loose and look good or win and look bad? Last year Fulham had three points at this stage and looked like an underwhelming squad through their first two matches. This time around they look very good and a near dominate side. If shots suddenly start falling things could get really exciting.

It isn't just about shots either; The Whites won the majority of duels (56%), blocked a higher percentage of opponent shots and passed well out of the back that created quick opportunities in the attack. There is a lot of promise here. The sort of promise that tells us things will get better, not worse.

I know there is talk about relegation, again, but that seems slightly absurd after two matches and two matches that looked really good. Since I'm not dead beating last years horse, let's make another comparisons to last year inept version. Fulham took almost four games to reach the same Squawka score that they've accumulated after just two. This doesn't necessarily mean anything more than they're doing positive things. That they are a better team that what they were last year.

Emerson Hyndman is looking like the answer we've longed for to midfield. Nikolay Bodurov is possibly a top-5 center half in the Championship. Lastly, Jesse Joronen shut down Millwall in some great chances and showed why Felix Magath has shown faith in him this season allowing the loan to Stekelenburg and the transfer of Stockdale.

Yes, we're tied for 21st place in the Championship. We've lost two games in a row to clubs that may not be close to the mix of the top-6 playoffs. It's not the end of the world. Really, it's not. The season is just beginning and this marathon is not through it's first leg. This is a process and it won't be fixed over night.

My advice to you is enjoy this ride for the time being. It's perhaps the best soccer we've been privileged to watch in nearly two seasons with young players who are going to impact talents for their national team sides. Shake off the loss, we got Wolves this week.