Fulham and Luton Town have a history that goes back 111 years, an FA Cup meeting at the Cottage on January the eigth 1908, tht one ended in a 0-8 victory for the Super Whites!

The teams have played 58 games in total in the last one hundred and eleven years, Fulham have lost 22, won 29 and drawn 7 of those. That record shows that there is usually a result as the draw percentage to date runs at around a 12 percent chance.

A feared, this ‘Easy Fixture’ lived up to the reality that old hands at following the Whites know too well, if an enthusiastic and optimistic mate tells you “ we’ll thrash this lot”. You are certain that nothing of the sort will transpire and we’ll slink away defeated again. As we feared, Luton were not going to roll over and gift us three points and in the end we were blessed to come away with a share of the spoils so for that I give thanks to the Christmas Fairy.

There was an unchanged line-up from the team that played Leeds last Saturday. Which hasn’t been that regular an occurrence this season so maybe, we thought, a settled and winning team will just carry on where they left off, right?

No! Fulham fell to an early sucker punch when another case of “What’s it all about Alfie?” occurred, Mawson being easily robbed of the ball (an embarrassingly frequent problem), another example of the ridiculous risks our defence and the keeper indulge in far too often. Kazenga Lua Lua (so good they named him twice!) made no mistake with his effort to put the home team one nil up after the five minute mark. Cue gnashing of teeth and mass despair, typical Fulham, we’d not even warmed up and the team already faced an uphill struggle.

As it transpired, we were right back in it within eight minutes, the excellent Booby Decordova-Reid equalising by meeting Ivan Cavaleiro’s accurate cross with a finely placed header, Booby has really made himself an invaluable asset as the season progresses and in consort with Harrison Reed we definitely play more cohesively as a unit as well as benefitting from their flair and endeavour and Booby’s knack of scoring important goals. Tom Cairney came close but the keeper easily took his feet footed attempt and held it.

In the ensuing minutes, Luton prodded and probed and certainly weren’t discouraged by our goal and kept at it, the game in fact developed into an up and down endeavour with Luton edging it with goal attempts, coming close two minutes after our equaliser when James Collins headed wide. Fulham were also eagerly trying to double their goal quota which made this an entertaining if unpredictable contest, Joe Bryan, Tom Cairney and Ivan Cavaleiro all had attempts saved.within seven minutes.

Josh Onomah conceded a free kick in a dangerous position in the 27th minute and James Collins scored Luton’s second goal from the resulting free kick, arrowing a right footer into the net following James Bree’s assist. Despite more huffing and puffing, from both sides, the half ended after 48 minutes with the scoreline remaining 2-1. Then Mawson made another cods-up of an attempt to restrain Lua Lua as he shimmied past his marker, cynically barging him to the ground, the ensuing free kick found the Luton number 19 unmarked and he slid the ball in past a helpless Rodák, fortunately the assistant referee had his flag up, 3-1 at the break would have been a disaster.unmarked

Within two minutes of the restart, Fulham have three good attempts through Mitro, twice, and Josh Onamah and so the as the game progressed, both sides were going for it with our boys looking likely to take a stranglehold on the game after Fulham old boy Ryan Tunnicliffe smacked the post with a right footed strike in the 73rd minute.

Joy, oh, Joy! Four minutes later and we were level, once again. Our talismanic Serbian International Mitro headed in his customary goal following a corner from Anthony Knockaert who had replaced Harrison Reed on 70 minutes. Two all and 13 minutes to go, we must have the best chance to win this game now, surely. Sadly this was not to be the case, I’d been suckered into that old trap again and although we came close two minutes after scoring, we couldn’t get that breakthrough strike over the line.

This game was heading towards full time when six minutes from the whistle a goal was scored, unfortunately it came from Luton, another right footed shot from the right bang into the centre of goal, this time struck by Harry Cornick. A long clearance after prolonged Fulham pressure on Luton’s goal had led to this move, it all seemed harmless as we won possession and Joe Bryan, facing our goal 25 yards out on our left had it under control and about to pass the ball when he was over-powered by his tight marker whose pass reached the Luton runner Cornick, who had got in behind our defence, he couldn’t miss… and didn’t, 3-2!

To make matters more serious for the Whites, two minutes later Luke Berry and Harry Cornick combined after Tim Ream completed a hat-trick of defenders who could’ve defend, comically echoing Bryan’s earlier weakness, Cornick’s (you guessed it) right footed shot drifting wide to the right side of the goal. Smack on 90 minutes, Cornick used to right foot again, this time missing to the left side of the goal. Not good!

The game headed into added time and it was obviously going to a case of the team returning to London bereft of points, a shame as the two comebacks had been well deserved. Then on 94 minutes, Bobby DC received the ball and unleashed a fierce right footed shot from with the six yard box to grab us a totally well deserved equaliser.

And so it ended after a three further minutes, one point, all things considered it could have been worse. Full credit to Luton, on reflection a draw was deserved bu Fulham but Luton played an immense part and could count themselves unlucky and will have thought they should have won. From our perspective, if we fail to get a promotion this season, it will be solely down to our garbage defending, I can’t say one positive thing about any of the back line and this has been our problem going back more than merely the past three or four seasons and needs rectifying now.

Having won all three points against a top two team I suppose that it would have been fair to assume that playing a team that has been struggling at the other end of the table as a doddle. In fact, on paper, this game ought to be a formality surely.

Not likely, games such as these are always tricky and don't forget we are playing at Luton's home ground so coupled with their predicament and having home support, they'll be going hell for leather to win the match.

Besides, we haven't had a draw for nine games so the outcome might even lean towards sharing the points.

Naturally, I hope we win but at the end of the day we dare not lose if we want to keep in touch. The Championship is so tight and every team is capable of beating the others that makes these games anything but a formality, a slip up in the closely spaced Christmas and New Year fixtures could prove costly just when we look to start a winning run.

Whatever the outcome, we definitely need to win the following home matches so fingers crossed that we add to our tally at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.

COYW