Fulham vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Craven CottageAttendance18,168.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Craven Cottage
Saturday 2 November 2019 18:56, UK
Fulham's fragility on the road finally came home to Craven Cottage as the London side were convincingly beaten 3-0 by Hull.
A proud record of having lost just one of their previous 23 home games at Championship level always looked in jeopardy from the moment Josh Bowler swept the visitors in front after just 10 minutes.
Second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and Tom Eaves secured a third straight impressive win for Grant McCann's Tigers, having previously seen off Nottingham Forest and Derby.
Fulham full-back Joe Bryan fell in a challenge with less than two minutes played and was unable to continue after a lengthy stoppage.
Bryan was still hobbling along the touchline when the ball suddenly fell to Kamil Grosicki on the edge of the Fulham area, but the Poland international saw his low shot saved by Marcus Bettinelli. It was a warning Fulham did not heed.
Interplay between Grosicki and Callum Elder on the left wing six minutes later ended with the latter swinging over a high cross that held up in the swirling wind.
Bowler headed it against Bryan's replacement Maxime Le Marchand but connected much more convincingly as the ball rebounded to him, volleying it past Bettinelli.
The visitors might have added to their lead in the 25th minute but Jon Toral's shot struck team-mate Bowen in the back and skidded to safety.
Fulham, by contrast, could barely string two passes together in the opening half hour. The conditions were hardly conducive to flowing football, yet not so wild as to justify the hosts' waywardness.
When they did awaken, a passing move which took them from the halfway line to the edge of the Hull area ended with Aleksandar Mitrovic turning a Stefan Johansen pass into the midriff of Hull 'keeper George Long.
If the second period began with a sustained period of Fulham dominance, it was in the name of possession and territory rather than chances created.
It was left to Hull to demonstrate the ruthlessness that is required to mount a sustained tilt at promotion.
After a 57th-minute break had initially broken down, the excellent Jackson Irvine slipped a pass in front of Bowen, a natural goalscorer at Championship level.
Bowen strode forward, shimmied to create himself a yard of space and fired a low shot under the body of Bettinelli to give his side a lead which already looked unassailable.
Still Fulham offered almost nothing and Hull substitute Eaves sealed victory six minutes from time, albeit inadvertently as Bowen's shot cannoned off Bettinelli's legs and struck the forward on the shin before rolling over the line.
Fulham's Scott Parker: "It was a tough day. Today is probably the one day I sit here this season disappointed by the way we played, disappointed with the result and the way things panned out. We weren't where we needed to be. We've had defeats this year, but I felt we were flat today.
"Ultimately what will determine how successful I am personally and how successful this team is is going to be moments like this. Cliche that it is, you've got to bounce back."
Hull's Grant McCann: "I thought we played well today. We've come to one of the best sides in the division. In transition we were good and we caused them problems every time we turned the ball over. I was pleased with the performance.
"I've always had belief, but it's probably taken time for everybody at the football club to believe that we can challenge for the top six. We shouldn't hide away from it. That is what our aim is. Even if we go and lose next week against West Brom, that aim won't change from now until the end of the season."
