NUFC player ratings vs Fulham – Two 8.5s, one 8, a 7.5, the odd 7 and several 6s

An absolutely titanic win at St. James Park this afternoon as we beat Fulham for the second time this season thanks to an 89th minute winner from Alexander Isak.

A pretty scrappy game in all fairness, but we take the three points! Here come the ratings:

Nick Pope – 6 – Quick off his line but wasn’t forced into making a save, as our defence limited Fulham to zero shots on target. Kicking and distribution was a little off, which has been excellent the past few weeks.

Kieran Tripper – 6 – Delivery was well below his best and made a clumsy challenge giving away the penalty in the second half. Set piece delivery was not on target at all but leadership qualities there to see as always, talking his teammates through the game. Offered an option going forward all afternoon but failed to make an impact on the game.

Fabian Schar – 8.5 – Outstanding defensive performance especially in the first half, stepping out of defence brilliantly to thwart Fulham’s play. Played some beautiful balls over the top to release Wilson and Willock which led to two big chances. Hit the post with a free kick in the second half which on another day nestles into the net. Big performance from the Swiss and nip and tuck between him and Big Joe for man of the match.

Sven Botman – 7.5 – Dealt with Mitrovic superbly and kept him quiet all afternoon. Made a few outstanding slide tackles in the first half stopping Fulham attacking. Strong on the ball, operating as our ‘Quarter-Back’ so to speak and spraying the ball all over the park from centre-back. Couldn’t pop the ball into midfield as easily in the second half due to Bruno’s injury which caused us a few issues building attacks.

Dan Burn – 7 – Rock solid defensively but lacked creativity on the ball. HIs limitations on the ball were highlighted in the second half as the Blyth man slowed our game down. Made some excellent interceptions in the first half. His performance perhaps due to a come down from his heroics midweek against Leicester.

Bruno Guimaraes – 6 – Struggled to get into the game in the first half and twisted his ankle with a nasty looking motion midway through the first half. Soldiered on until half-time but looked in real distress, reducing himself to tears as he walked off the pitch. Praying it’s not a major injury that will keep him out of the semi-finals.

Sean Longstaff – 8 – Started poorly in the first half but really grew into the game. Got into some excellent positions, particularly apparent in the first half as he latched onto a lovely pass from Bruno, but seemed to improve when he went central, replacing Bruno as our number six. Snatched at an effort from the edge of the box in the second half, but made up for that by delivering a beauty into Wilson in the lead up to our goal. A really strong performance. Does the dirty work superbly, has one hell of an engine on him and kept things ticking in a second half where we did well to edge it without Bruno.

Joelinton – 8.5 – Covered every blade of grass this afternoon following his inclusion in the starting 11 just a few days after his drink-driving charge. His willingness to run back and defend was absolutely superb all afternoon. Never stopped running and drove brilliantly at the Fulham defence, winning free kicks and forcing Fulham on the back foot. Howe claimed he was extremely remorseful following his drink driving charge earlier this week and he repaid his managers trust with a superb performance in midfield. Was shifted into the central position following Bruno’s first half injury.

Joe Willock – 6 – Was relatively quiet this afternoon but created one notable opportunity with a typical lung busting run down Fulham’s left hand side. Full of energy but failed to make a major impact on the game.

Miguel Almiron – 7 – Full of beans all afternoon as always, intercepting and pressing all of Fulham’s back line. His final ball was a little off this afternoon failing to slip his team-mates in when the opportunity presented itself. Not his best performance but cannot fault the Paraguayans effort in our press. Callum

Wilson – 6 – Looked well off the pace in the first half, failing to take either of his two chances – although one was created superbly by a turn that left a few Fulham defenders for dead. Got the crucial assist for Isak’s winner with a clever clip across goal. A true winner who typifies Howe’s ‘not here to be popular, here to compete’ philosophy.

Substitutes:

Allan Saint-Maximin – 6 – Failed to make an impact in his 45 minute cameo. Seemed to be forcing it at times, not passing at the correct opportunity. Always a threat and menace in the second half but controlled pretty well by Fulham’s defence. Could’ve been different however as his drive from outside the box in the 80th minute came whiskers away from nestling in the bottom right corner.

Alexander Isak – 7 – Looked super sharp when coming on, adopting a position in the inside left channel supporting Wilson. Will still be getting back to full match sharpness but will receive a titanic boost in confidence following his late winner in front of the Gallowgate. “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a striker from Sweden…”.

Jacob Murphy – 6 – Made some vital interceptions that maintained our pressure on the Fulham defence with our barrage in the second half.