Craven Cottage - Fulham FC
Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa
20/10/12 - Premier League
Att: 25,693
I first visited Craven Cottage in the 2006/07 season as a wide-eyed, fully haired 14 year old as Fulham and Aston Villa, both in mid-table, played out a dull end of season 1-1 draw. Since then I've returned twice more and haven't managed to see a Villa victory, but despite this it's always been a ground that I've loved going to due to it's location, it's accessibility, it's character and the friendly nature of the day out, so with this in mind I set off from home at 10:30 on Saturday morning in high spirits ahead of my favourite trip of the season.
After a change at Clapham Junction I arrived in Putney at around 11:30 and made my way to the Eight Bells pub, via the bookies, where I met a few mates and sunk a few beers before moving over the river to a Wetherspoons to catch up with a few of the lads who were on the coach to Newcastle. One thing that I always forget about Fulham is how deceptively far the ground is from the pubs, so after leaving at around 2:30 I made it to the ground with about 5 minutes to go before kick off, meaning I didn't have a chance to take any pictures outside the ground apart from a quick snap of the back of the Johnny Haynes Stand.
It's been nearly ten years since Fulham were forced to leave the ground while it was renovated to bring it up to Premier League standard, with terracing still standing behind both goals when they were promoted in 2001. After two seasons groundsharing at QPR they moved back into their spiritual home following £8m worth of building work which produced a 25,000 capacity all seated stadium fit for the top flight.
Both of the newly built stands are large one tiered covered seated stands, with a low roof making for excellent acoustics. The Riverside Stand, which is situated on the bank of the River Thames, is a small one tiered stand which was opened in 1973. Opposite that is the Johnny Haynes Stand which is one of the few remaining pieces of Archibald Leitch's work. The brick facade of this stand is a thing of beauty and adds some real character to the ground. In the corner, near the tunnel, is the cottage itself which has stood since 1905. All in all it's a fantastic venue, with character in abundance.
On the pitch Fulham have gone from strength to strength since Mohamed Al-Fayed took over the club in the summer of 1997, shortly after The Cottagers had been promoted from the fourth tier. He set out a vision for Fulham to reach the top flight within five seasons, but this was achieved within four after promotions in the 98/99 and 00/01 seasons.
Despite this period of success I think most Fulham fans would agree that their most successful season came in 2009/10, when Roy Hodgson's side embarked on a Europa League campaign following a 7th placed finish the previous term. After coming through the group which contained Roma and Basel, they knocked out Shakhtar Donetsk before a remarkable victory over Juventus in the last 16. After losing 3-1 in Turin David Trezeguet's early strike in the second leg meant that Fulham needed four goals to progress. Zamora pulled one back, Gera hit a brace and Clint Dempsey's effort with eight minutes remaining secured the most famous result in the club's history. Wolfsburg and Hamburg were then defeated which secured Fulham's first ever appearance in a European final, where they went down to an extra time goal from Atlético Madrid's Diego Forlan.
Last season Martin Jol lead them to a solid 9th placed finish and going into this game they had won nine and drawn two of their previous thirteen matches at home. Meanwhile Aston Villa have managed just one win on the road in 2012, coming at Wolves back in January. It's no surprise that Fulham were odds-on favourites with the bookmakers for the match.
After a mad dash into the ground I made it in time for kick off, with my seat in P5 offering an excellent view. I was right on the edge of the official away end and the neutral section, with absolutely no segregation in force. It was quite refreshing and with not even the slightest hint of trouble, it showed that football fans can be trusted to sit with each other and not tear each other's heads off. With 2,900 away tickets sold there was also a lot of claret and blue evident in the neutral end, making it a good following of Villa fans as it usually is at Craven Cottage.
The match was a bit of a slow burner, with Fulham looking the more dangerous of the two teams while Villa kept possession well, without really creating much - A recurring theme this season. Guzan was in good form as he kept out Berbatov's first half effort, while in contrast Darren Bent hardly had a touch of the ball throughout the first half.
Villa grew into the game in the second period, creating a couple of half chances which both fell to Agbonlahor, but he couldn't convert either. As the half wore on it looked like it would end in a stalemate, but with just six minutes remaining Fulham got a corner which was turned in at the near post by Chris Baird. It was a real kick in the teeth but moments later Villa had a great chance to equalise, but Benteke couldn't hit the target from close range as the match finished 1-0 to the home side.
After the match I met up with a couple of mates and we headed to The Bricklayers to drown our sorrows and I eventually headed for home around 7pm, getting back to Farnborough about an hour later.
It had been another disappointing result but another thoroughly enjoyable day out at a ground that I've always rated as being one of the best away days in the league. It's easy to get to, the pubs are great, the locals are friendly, it has four floodlight pylons, a large one tiered away end with a low roof and a stand designed by Archibald Leitch. What's not to like about going to Fulham?
Despite this period of success I think most Fulham fans would agree that their most successful season came in 2009/10, when Roy Hodgson's side embarked on a Europa League campaign following a 7th placed finish the previous term. After coming through the group which contained Roma and Basel, they knocked out Shakhtar Donetsk before a remarkable victory over Juventus in the last 16. After losing 3-1 in Turin David Trezeguet's early strike in the second leg meant that Fulham needed four goals to progress. Zamora pulled one back, Gera hit a brace and Clint Dempsey's effort with eight minutes remaining secured the most famous result in the club's history. Wolfsburg and Hamburg were then defeated which secured Fulham's first ever appearance in a European final, where they went down to an extra time goal from Atlético Madrid's Diego Forlan.
Last season Martin Jol lead them to a solid 9th placed finish and going into this game they had won nine and drawn two of their previous thirteen matches at home. Meanwhile Aston Villa have managed just one win on the road in 2012, coming at Wolves back in January. It's no surprise that Fulham were odds-on favourites with the bookmakers for the match.
After a mad dash into the ground I made it in time for kick off, with my seat in P5 offering an excellent view. I was right on the edge of the official away end and the neutral section, with absolutely no segregation in force. It was quite refreshing and with not even the slightest hint of trouble, it showed that football fans can be trusted to sit with each other and not tear each other's heads off. With 2,900 away tickets sold there was also a lot of claret and blue evident in the neutral end, making it a good following of Villa fans as it usually is at Craven Cottage.
The match was a bit of a slow burner, with Fulham looking the more dangerous of the two teams while Villa kept possession well, without really creating much - A recurring theme this season. Guzan was in good form as he kept out Berbatov's first half effort, while in contrast Darren Bent hardly had a touch of the ball throughout the first half.
Villa grew into the game in the second period, creating a couple of half chances which both fell to Agbonlahor, but he couldn't convert either. As the half wore on it looked like it would end in a stalemate, but with just six minutes remaining Fulham got a corner which was turned in at the near post by Chris Baird. It was a real kick in the teeth but moments later Villa had a great chance to equalise, but Benteke couldn't hit the target from close range as the match finished 1-0 to the home side.
After the match I met up with a couple of mates and we headed to The Bricklayers to drown our sorrows and I eventually headed for home around 7pm, getting back to Farnborough about an hour later.
It had been another disappointing result but another thoroughly enjoyable day out at a ground that I've always rated as being one of the best away days in the league. It's easy to get to, the pubs are great, the locals are friendly, it has four floodlight pylons, a large one tiered away end with a low roof and a stand designed by Archibald Leitch. What's not to like about going to Fulham?
Rear of the Johnny Haynes Stand
The Cottage
Fulham Football Club
The divide
Johnny Haynes Stand
Hammersmith End
Riverside Stand
Panoramic view of Craven Cottage
