U21 Fixtures - Season 2013/14

The Premier League have this afternoon released the fixtures for the 2013/14 Barclays U21 Premier League.

In a new format for the age group, sides play each other only once in a 21-team national league, with the top-four advancing to the Semi-Finals in April.

Kit Symons’ boys get their campaign underway with an away trip to Manchester City on Sunday 11th August. The first "home" match is against Middlesbrough on Friday 16th August and the Club have scheduled this for Craven Cottage, which is not only great for fans but a good bit of thinking.


Here is a link to the full fixture list -

http://www.fulhamfc.com/the-teams/u21s/u21-fixtures-201314

 

The Club have posted an interesting article in which Kit Symons previews the U21 season, ahead of the first game against Man City on Sunday. The whole thing is well worth a read but I thought these two extracts were particularly worth highlighting:

Here is a link to the full article: http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/august/09/kit-symons-man-city-preview

 

Man City 1 Fulham 2 (U21s)


A fantastic away win in the first game of the season, with Cawley Woodrow getting a double. The team was;


Etheridge, Brister, Grimmer, Arthurworrey, Kavanagh. Minkwitz, Passley, Christensen. Woodrow, Tankovic, Banya

Subs; Oberschmidt, Richards, Islamovic, Della Verde


This report is from the away lot:

"City put their best foot forward and began the game with incredible intensity, not giving the Cottagers a second on the ball, pressing high up the field and winning the ball back in advanced areas.

This pressure almost told as early as the fourth minutes when Rusnak hit a shot which had Neil Etheridge in the Fulham goal scrambling but whistled a foot past the post.
There were further chances for Hiwula and Lopes but it was Fofana who came closest to giving City an early lead.

The Frenchman, who recently won the Player of the Tournament award at the Oberndorf Tournament, pickpocketed Stephen Arthurworrey and smashed a ferocious effort which beat Etheridge but not the post.

These warning shots were not served in vain, as Hiwula fired City into the lead on the half-hour mark. Although it was a neat enough finish from the striker, the goal was all about Fofana, who powered his way past two defenders before laying the ball on for Jordy to score City’s first goal of the season. There was a swagger about City in that first-half, an air of confidence underpinned with a desire to start the season in style.

This attractive approach continued after the break and Marcos Lopes almost doubled the advantage immediately after the restart. The Portuguese starlet actually scuffed his shot but it still nearly found the far corner.

On 58 minutes, Hiwula had an opportunity for his second but Etheridge saved well and Fulham went up the other end to equalise. Cauley Woodrow took a touch to get the ball out of his feet before unleashing an unstoppable low shot under the onrushing Gunn.

It was a cruel blow for City to concede against the run of play from a rare Fulham foray forward and their reaction to this setback would surely dictate the final destination of the points. Unfortunately for Vieira’s men, that leveller seemed to give the visitors confidence and ushered in the Londoners’ best spell of the game.

Their turnaround was complete when Cauley Woodrow headed in Fulham’s second from a cross to make it 2-1 shortly before the 70 minute mark.

City battled on in search of a response and they were millimetres from levelling when Wales u21 midfielder Huws curled in a delightful cross-field pass but Leigh couldn’t quite reach it at the back post to convert. Despite the home side’s domination of possession and the greater number of chances over the 90 minutes, there was no way back and Fulham held on for the win."

 

In his post match comments, Kit Symons said,


"We're pleased with the win, it's always good to open the season with three points," said Under-21 Manager Symons. "We didn't play particularly well in the first-half, and probably gave City too much respect at times. They [City] created a few chances and went in front.

"I had a chat with the boys at the break, and talked two or three things through with them. Again, they showed great character to turn it around and in the second-half they played much better. There was a lot more urgency and energy to their play and in the end, for me, we were worthy winners.

"We always knew that it was going to be a tough game, and we had to work for it today. The boys will have learned a few things from this, and moving forwards we'll build on the performance. We have another game in five days and we'll go back, train hard and look forward to going again."


A modest man who should take a lot of credit in picking things up at half time and making astute sustitutions - Richards for Banya on the hour and Della Verde for the Tank 10 minutes later.

And just a reminder - the "another game in five days" is at the Cottage. This Friday 16th August. Season ticket holders and Members are free.

 

Blimey, the U21s have hit the headlines in the Daily Mail



"Manchester City U21 1 Fulham U21 2: Woodrow double seals victory for Cottagers' youngsters as Pellegrini watches loss


A second half double from Fulham’s Cauley Woodrow meant Patrick Vieira’s tenure as Manchester City elite development coach started with a defeat.

With Manuel Pellegrini watching on, City were unable to convert Jordi Hiwula’s goal and first half dominance into an opening weekend win in the Under 21 Premier League.

Instead it was a left to Cauley Woodrow, a prolific striker in Fulham’s youth side whose game has drawn comparisons with Teddy Sheringham, to inspire a comeback."


Here is a link to their full match report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2389335/Manchester-City-U21-1-Fulham-U21-2-match-report.html


And video highlights of the the goals:


[video=youtube;tscBJ6DsWQ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscBJ6DsWQ4&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

Fulham 1 Middlesborough 0 (U21s)



Brister Blaster wins it for Fulham



It was ‘bijou but beautiful’ that was the crowd as described by ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton, not the game, which was well contested but never thrilling. The team was:


1. Bettinelli, 2.Brister, 3. Kavanagh, 4. Vigen Christensen, 5. Arthurworrey, 6. Grimmer (C), 7. Passley, 8. David (16. Minkwitz, 77 mins), 9. Trotta (15. Islamovic, 81 mins), 10. Tankovic (14. Woodrow, 62 mins), 11. Richards

Subs not used: 12. Joronen, 17. Buatu


In the first half, a well organised Boro team, playing 4-1-4-1, nullified the Fulham midfield who had Chris David playing deep. When Fulham did break the crossing was poor, especially from Josh Passley who didn’t seem comfortable playing wide right. The best chance fell to Tom Richards but he fluffed his shot from 8 yards out.

One pleasing aspect was that when Boro had a corner we left a player (The Tank) up field and on at least one occasion nearly paid off. He controlled the cleared ball, put it wide, took the return and a Boro panicky clearance nearly resulted in an own goal.

Boro for there part made a couple of sharp breaks but the only time they did get through Bettinelli was just as sharp and mad a fine block.

The second half came alight five minutes in. After a smooth move on the left, Tankovic whipped the ball across the Boro defence, Passley left it for Alex Brister who coming in from the right blasted a 20 yard angled shot into the roof of the net.

Marcello Trotta then had a “purple” patch (between the 55th and 58th minute) when he had 2 shots (one saved; one blocked ), a nearly header and a miss-control on the penalty spot. And that was pretty much it for him - frankly he just wasn’t mobile enough.

If anything the substitutions made Fulham look more fluid and certainly more balanced. However it was Boro who had the better of the final 10 minutes and were a tad unlucky not to equalise on at least two occasions.

A final word about two of the players, Stephen Arturworrey was sound throughout but what impressed me most was that his distribution was so much better than when I last saw him. Chris David did not have a good game - he tried to do too much too often. Some of his cross field passing was very good but more usually he was caught in possession or had to make a negative pass. Playing do deep and trying to mastermind things didn’t work tonight I’m afraid.

 

Watch Brister's Blaster



[video=youtube;BMgLqGNKgQ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMgLqGNKgQ4&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

It appears that one of those friendly matches was played today - against Charlton. And it didn't go too well. This is from their official twitter account:


Charlton Athletic FC‏@CAFCofficial1h
FULL TIME: @MA_Fox, @cookz10 and @TSho_Silva all scored as our U21s beat Fulham 3-0 in a friendly this afternoon


No other details as yet - don't know if it was a full U21 side we fielded or a "Fulham XI".

 

Norwich 0 Fulham 1 (U21s)



Woodrow Spot On but Bettinelli Saves the Day


The only real surprise in the line-up for the game away to Norwich this afternoon, was no Stephen Arthurworrey. The team was -


Bettinelli, Brister, Christensen, Grimmer, Kavanagh, Passley, David, Frei,, Woodrow, Tankovic, Richards

Subs: Joronen, Buatua, Della Verde, Minkwitz, Islamovic


Fulham got off to a flyer when Cauley Woodrow was hauled down in the box after only 4 minutes. The striker took the resulting penalty himself and scored comfortably.

The game was pretty even after that with Norwich having two chances either side of the quarter hour mark - both saved well by Marcus Bettinelli. And on twenty minutes a chance to Fulham as The Tank put Tom Richards through but his shot was equally well saved by the Norwich keeper. The team rode their luck however when the Norwich striker, Morris, broke into the box from the left and his shot hit the post AND the bar before being scrambled clear.

Alex Brister, who was continuing his good form on returning from injury, went close with a header from a corner. Then Sean Kavanagh had a cracking free kick saved just before half time and the Team went in 1-0 up.

Fulham kicked off the second half and went straight into the attack. In the first five minutes, a quick one-two between Tankovic and Brister saw The Tank scooped over the bar when he should have done better. Then Cauley Woodrow had a powerful shot again well saved.

Norwich then had a good spell, forcing a couple of good saves from Bettinelli. With 15 minutes to go Woodrow was put clean through only have the ball smothered by the Norwich keeper. Nothing to do with that miss as such, but rather to freshen things up Kit Symons replaced him a couple of minutes later with Dino Islamovic. This had the desired effect and Fulham stayed on top, their best effort being a deflected free kick from Chris David which flew over the bar.

There was a mini heart stopper in the last minute when a Norwich equaliser looked possible but yet another fine save by Marcus Bettinelli saw the team hold out.

 

Since his return from loan spells Bettinnelli has put in some solid performances.
This is part of my reasoning for Jorronin & or Marcus to be premoted to the bench,
Both big strong lads, what 6ft 2 & 6ft 4.both having agility and positional savy.
And anyone who has watched MB cannot fail to be impressed by his constant vocal instructions.

 

Here is a video of Cauley Woodrow's penalty which secured the win over Norwich, giving the U21s a 100% (3 wins in 3) start to the season:



[video=youtube;GPcwOswqQk4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPcwOswqQk4&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

Currently 4-3 up against Wolves with 15 mins to go

 

4-4 !

 

Fulham 4 Wolves 4 (U21s)



Goals Galore and the Bar Saves Wolves


Young U18 star Marek Rodak was given a start in goal, and the other U18 keeper, Magnus Norman was on the bench. It was a pretty strong line-up (although Stephen Arthurworrey was stll unavailable through injury), with Mesca coming in on the right . No Trotta. No Frei. Wolves had Jamie O’Hara in their side. The Fulham team was:


Rodak, Brister, Kavanagh, David, Passley, Grimmer, Bangna, Christensen, Woodrow, Tankovic, Richards

Subs: Norman, Banya, Islamovic, Buatu, Minkwitz


After going on the back foot at the start when Wolves went close with a header, Fulham broke loose and Muamer Tankovic scored from the edge of the box with a shot that was deflected past their keeper. That was after only 2 minutes.

Wolves went straight back on the offensive though and a great pass which split our defence, was slotted home by Wolves McAlinden. That was after 8 minutes.

Wolves were still getting the better of things but it was Fulham making the chances; Mesca cut in from right and his left foot shot saved, the Cauley Woodrow was through one-on-one only to shoot straight at the keeper. The team were looking unusually jittery at the back and on the half hour McAlinden got his second for Wolves with a looping header over Rodak. Then they let a Wolves man get a free header but he fortunately hit the bar.

The team plugged away however and Christensen put one over the bar from outside the box. The same player then had a terrific run into the box, after great work by Mesca, and cut the ball back to The Tank who duly slammed it home for his second of the night. That was 2 minutes before half time.

And just on the stroke of half time Christensen yet again cut the ball back from the right hand side and this time it was Mesca who was there to put the balll home. But if you thought it was all over… two minutes into injury time Mesca brought down a cross field pass from Sean Kavanagh, beat his defender and slotted the ball past the keeper, For his second of the game.

So a terrific fight back and 3 goals in the last five minutes puts the lads 4-2 up at the break.

The second half started with Mananga Buatu coming on for Alex Brister. He went to centre back alongside Jack Grimmer with Josh Passley going to right back. The change was no doubt made to shore up the shaky defence but only seven minutes in Buatu shoved a Wolves man in the box. Marek Rudak made a brilliant save from the spot kick but McAlinden was quickest to react and scored from the rebound for his hat trick.

The game then became a tad cagy, with neither side able to keep decent possession. Then on the 70 minute mark Wolves equalised with a scrappy goal when a shot from outside the box was deflected in. Straight from the kick off Cauley Woodrow rattled the bar with a shot from outside the box and within a couple of minutes it was Jack Grimmer who this time rattled the cross bar. In the resulting melee umpteen shots were blocked before the ball was cleared.

Fulham really went for it now and Wolves were forced to defend deeper and deeper. Still a goal wouldn’t come - Woodrow hit the bar again! Then in extra time Chris David hit one which flew just over the bar. Unbelievably it ended 4-4.

Chris David had a quiet game and Lasse Vigen Christensen was MOTM. The defence was really shaky tonight for some reason and we conceded soft goals. However, the way the team ended each half they probably deserved to win. You’ve got to give it to them for fighting right to the end in games - could they be the “Manchester United of the South”?

 

Here is a video of the goals. As you'll see our second was a terrific 'team goal'. Unfortunately the Club have not included all those final finale shots that rattled the cross bar.



[video=youtube;KP7tteQ6tjc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP7tteQ6tjc&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

Fulham 2 Ipswich 2 (U21 Friendly)



Noted that a "trialist" came on as a sub at left back. And, good to see Stephen Arthurworrey back from injury in the friendly match this afternoon. The team was:


Etheridge, Passley, Arthurworrey (Buatu 46), O’Reilly, Kavanagh (Trialist 66), Banya, Minkwitz, Plumain (Elworthy 52), Richards, Della Verde, Islamovic


”The Tractor Boys went in front in the third minute when their powerful striker rose to head home a cross from the left.

But Fulham were level two minutes later. Dino Islamovic met a cross from Tom Richards but saw his header saved by the Ipswich goalkeeper. Lying prostrate on the ground, Islamovic somehow managed to bundle home the rebound.

Ipswich were back in front in the ninth minute when their winger controlled a cross from the right before poking the ball through the legs of Neil Etheridge. At the other end, Ronny Minkwitz fired over in the 26th minute after meeting Sean Kavanagh’s cross, before Lyle Della Verde saw a long-distance shot saved. Charles Banya picked up the loose ball but his cross was headed wide by Ange-Freddy Plumain.

The unmarked Islamovic missed a good chance to level the scores just before the break, nodding wide from Kavanagh’s corner. The striker did, however, make it 2-2 on 49 minutes. Minkwitz’s long-range effort crashed back off the post but hung in the air for Dino Islamovic to nod home the rebound.

Just after the hour mark, Minkwitz fired straight at the goalkeeper after meeting Islamovic’s pull-back, before Etheridge made a good stop from an Ipswich striker.
With five minutes remaining, an Ipswich substitute raced onto a ball over the top, clipped a shot past the onrushing Etheridge but saw his effort go wide of the far post.

In what proved to be the last chance of the match, another Ipswich replacement then headed wide with three minutes left after losing Mananga Jonathan Buatu at a free-kick.”

 

The Premier League have introduced a new National Cup competition at the U21 level. [There has been an U18 or as it's best known, FA Youth Cup competition since 1953].

It's all a bit complicated at this stage since there are knock out qualifiers before Category 1 clubs like ourselves go into the draw. Even then is also a North/South divide. At least when we do come out of the hat (not till November time) the games will be at Craven Cottage.

Here's a link to the PL site giving the preliminary details: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2013-14/sep/premier-league-u21-premier-league-cup-draw-090913.html

 

Reading 1 Fulham 2 (U21s)



Diarra Returns


Mahamadou Diarra played the full 90 as the U21s continued their excellent run. The team was:


Etheridge, Passley, Kavanagh, Diarra, Arthurworrey, Grimmer, Na Bangna, Vigen Christensen, Islamovic, David, Plumain

Subs: Joronen, Minkwitz, Richards, Buatu, Tankovic


”Jake Taylor thought he’d earned the Royals a point in the windy conditions when he cancelled out Lasse Vigen Christensen’s opener with time running out, only for substitute Muamer Tankovic to pop upwith a late winner.

Chris David had already won and missed a penalty by the time Stephen Arthurworrey nodded over from close range, before the centre-back saw another headed opportunity come and go before half-time. Vigen Christensen then opened the scoring after the interval, although the home side squandered a great chance to equalise when they too failed to net from the penalty spot following a foul on Dominic Samuel. The Reading striker picked himself up to take the kick, butskied his effort over the bar.
Reading continued to attack the Fulham goal and were seemingly rewarded with Taylor’s late effort, only for the Whites to immediately go up the other end to win it courtesy of MuamerTankovic’s strike, making it four wins and a draw from their opening five matches in the Barclays U21Premier League.

Following the match, Manager Kit Symons told the official website that although he was pleased to return with threepoints, he would have liked his side to have been more comfortable in doing so. “It was a decent game, but probably a little bit too open again for my liking, to be perfectly honest,” Kit said. “We played quite well and created a lot of chances but weren’t clinical enough in the final third for me. But I felt we more than deserved to win the game and we got our just desserts in the end.
We had quite a few opportunities but sometimes the end ball or the final product, the pass or the cross, wasn’t quite the level we needed to be at which let us down a little bit, but then we scored a decent goal. Then, after the equaliser, we scored late on so it was a good, decent performance. There was a lot of good play and we created a lot of chances but we need to be more clinical to kill the game off.”

The youngsters’ heads could easily have dropped following Reading’s late equaliser, so Kit was delighted with the response they showed and challenged them to replicate that mentality for longer periods of games. “We kept going and you always felt that we could sort of up it another gear,” he explained. “They equalised and then we upped it and went and got the winner. But that’s the thing, you want to play at that tempo and intensity all the time rather than wait for something bad to happen to suddenly up it a little bit. “Overall we’re very pleased – there were a lot of very good individual performances and it was also an all-round solidteam performance, and it’s another win for the boys so it’s good stuff.”

Another positive from the game was the return of Mahamadou Diarra to fitness. The Mali international – whose contract with the Club expired in the summer – played the entire match as he looks to earn a new deal at Fulham. “It was his first 90 minutes for a while,” Kit said. “He worked hard and put in a good shift and got through the game with no problems, so it’s all good.”

 

Great news, and hats off to Diarra for having the desire to come back from that kind of injury at this stage of his career.

 

Here is a video of the goals and if you're quick you get a glimpse of Mahamadou Diarra:



[video=youtube;Ojim-m1Uz0o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojim-m1Uz0o&feature=player_embedded[/video]