Stickied Fulham v Aston Villa Championship Play-off Final: Cottagers to take control?

TractorBoys

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Fulham’s 2-0 win over Derby County last time out was important for two reasons. Firstly, and most obviously, it secured their place in the Championship play-off final, which had been in doubt after a 1-0 away defeat in the first leg of their semi-final.

Secondly, it answered lingering question marks about the team’s big game mentality. It might seem churlish to even doubt a team that had taken 69 points from it’s final 30 league games – five more than title-winners Wolverhampton Wanderers – but the timing of a slight drop off in performances invited mild scrutiny.

An excellent 3-0 win at Millwall set up a final two-game showdown with Cardiff City for automatic promotion. The Whites unconvincingly beat already-relegated Sunderland 2-1, in a game which could have seen them fall two behind but for wrongly rejected penalty appeals, before a costly final day 3-1 defeat at Birmingham, where they lacked their usual fluency.

The Blues pressed effectively in the first half and defended with unity in the second, a template that Derby carried out just as well in their first leg triumph. The key for any team that plays Fulham is to turn the game into a battle; centre-backs Denis Odoi and Tim Ream are easily beaten in the air and prone to the occasional error.

What the duo do very well though, is carry the ball into the opposing half and thus reduce the numbers with which the other team are defending. If Odoi and Ream are not closed down, they can pick their passes into wide areas, almost like honorary midfielders. If they are closed down half-heartedly though, there is more space for midfielders Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald to dictate play and potentially pick passes into powerful front man Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Serb, as of 22nd May, is 6/4 with Betway to score anytime, something he has done in five of his last nine appearances.

While Fulham are rarely able to match the battling qualities of their opponents, they use the ball so cleverly that they rarely need to; grabbing control of this final before it descends into a free-for-all will be key to their chances.

The diverse nature of the West Londoners’ threat should be a concern for Aston Villa. When they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 over a two-legged semi-final, the number one task was to nullify Adama Traore. Alan Hutton, a left-back by trade, did that superbly with the help of his wing-partner Albert Adomah. We saw in the second half of both clashes with the Teessiders that Traore was forced to move away from his original right-wing position, such was the impact of Steve Bruce’s master-plan.

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The difference though is that Middlesbrough’s right-back, Ryan Shotton, didn’t offer alternative drive on the flank once Traore was bottled up, meaning their football became predictable. Fulham, by contrast, have two of the most powerful runners in the Championship on their right-flank: full-back Ryan Fredericks, who has had an outstanding season and Aboubakar Kamara, who earnt his last start after impressing from the bench recently.

Bruce not only has to worry about those two but, if he instructs midfielders like anchor man Mile Jedinak to shuffle across and help out Hutton, he then risks leaving more space centrally for Stefan Johansen to play his killer through balls in the final third, or on the other flank for Matt Targett to cross for Mitrovic.

Because Fulham manipulate the ball so well, they can often create a climate in which they hold all the cards. For all the money Aston Villa have spent, can the same be said of them?

Of course, the Midlanders are not a bad team: Jack Grealish carries the ball upfield effectively, wingers Adomah and Robert Snodgrass have hit purple patches this season while Lewis Grabban has a wide range of attributes up top.

While a lot of individual attacking quality has helped them compete for promotion this season, what they are lacking is a central midfielder with the skillset to switch play and control a game. Jedinak, although a valiant aerial battler, lacks the finesse to fulfil that role while Conor Hourihane, despite a respectable 10-goal return, relies too heavily on his left foot to make his next pass an unpredictable one.

Fulham are not yet the perfect side, but they have developed a coherent system that has allowed them to generate remarkable consistency in the second half of the season. Execute that blueprint on the big stage and the Premier League awaits.
 

Benji

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If Aston Villa win, I want them to be relegated at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea as John Terry watches because he refused to be involved.
 
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Muzzle

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Notice Grealish has started his diving early
 

Benji

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Lovely ball by Sessegnon. Astonishingly good quality and calmness for someone his age.
 

Super_horns

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Nice move and finish .
 

mistermagic

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Not a great game but better than the awful showing that occured a year ago between Huddersfield and Reading. Thought Villa were playing better just before Fulham scored the opener. The lack of reaction is a worry though. Jedinak is sleeping just happy to play in front of the back four while Hourriane has been invisible.

Ball's in Villa's court. If they want this they need to show something different otherwise Fulham will be promoted.
 

Predator373

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Fulham totally controlled that first half, by far the better team but they will be disappointed to only be 1-0 up.
 

JJ1532

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The gulf between these 2 is massive. Fulham could be a couple of goals ahead had they been a bit sharper in the final 3rd. Villa on the other hand look hugely inferior. They need to offer any push back in the 2nd half, because if they don't, Fulham will walk this.
 

Ciderup

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Fulham totally controlled that first half, by far the better team but they will be disappointed to only be 1-0 up.
This.
Fredericks is a very lucky boy though to stamp on an opponent right in front of the 4th official and get away with it.
 

Predator373

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I didn’t think it was deliberate imo but we’ve all seen ref’s send players off for that
This.
Fredericks is a very lucky boy though to stamp on an opponent right in front of the 4th official and get away with it.
 

Super_horns

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All action 2nd half - Villa could be level but also down to 10 men.
 

Ciderup

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Definite yellow so that's a fair red card for Odoi.
 
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Super_horns

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Fulham it is.

Played out the last 15 minutes with 10 men very well.
 

Pagnell

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Villa not doing nearly enough in the 25+ minutes Fulham were down to 10 men.
 

JJ1532

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Deserved win for Fulham, Betenelli barely had a save to make.

Don't think the Grealish challenge was a red, it was just a poorly timed sliding tackle that got the yellow it warranted. Fulham could have made it more comfortable, but they did enough in the end. Hopefully they can keep the core of their team together and give it a real go in the Premier League next season.
 

Ciderup

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I don't remember Betinelli having to make any tough saves, maybe the one from Grealish but that was it wasn't it?
 

Back in the DHSS

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Ironic that Aston Villa find themselves languishing in the second tier of English football having been one of the 5 clubs which brought about the Premier league. Karma!
 

big mean bunny

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Missed the final as I was away but its always hard to fault the 3rd place side winning.

I had personally hoped for a Villa win purely for this forum having good Villa fans and no Fulham fans,but seeing images of a sad John Terry on my timeline eased that disappointment.
 

Pagnell

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Missed the final as I was away but its always hard to fault the 3rd place side winning.

Absolutely. It's hypothetical and irrelevant here, but the idea of a 5th place side that finished 15 points behind 3rd being promoted due to playing well in an additional few games shouldn't sit well with anyone. Play offs can make for an exciting end to a season, but there can be something fundamentally flawed and unfair about them.
 

SoutheySWFC

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Absolutely. It's hypothetical and irrelevant here, but the idea of a 5th place side that finished 15 points behind 3rd being promoted due to playing well in an additional few games shouldn't sit well with anyone. Play offs can make for an exciting end to a season, but there can be something fundamentally flawed and unfair about them.
Hold up, the idea of a club finishing 4th in their domestic league being crowned Champions of Europe is not flawed then?
 

Pagnell

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Who said it wasn't?
 

big mean bunny

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Slightly different in the sense that the champions league has a huge element of form and luck about it over an entire season and some sides begin to prioritise that over domestic.
 

SF_

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Take away the playoffs and there are teams who might as well pack it in when it comes to promotion to the Premier League.

The playoffs are unfair to the side finishing third but not as unfair as parachute payments, distribution of tv money and rich owners buying their way up.
 

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