Saturday 11th September 2010 (Premier League)
Fulham 2 (Dembele, 49, 90+1) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Van Damme 10)
Att: 25,280
After the downpour I had to endure at the Port Vale game, I checked the weather forecast and, hearing that rain was expected on Saturday afternoon, turned up for work in a new pair of waterproof hiking boots. Of course, fate decreed that it was a very pleasant late summer day, with not a hint of precipitation.
On the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, it was inevitable that this day was going to be a bit different from normal. I was assigned to a vomitory with Wally, a young chap who had just graduated from university and who also spoke Arabic, and may well have been a Muslim. Once the gates opened and David Hamilton did his usual introductions, it was announced that the game sponsors were American Airlines. What? Yes, the same American Airlines that had two planes hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists all those years ago!
As a vomitory steward in the neutral area, the afternoon was quite pleasant, with most supporters staying in their seats and very few difficult fans. One guy, who looked as though he originated from the Indian sub-continent asked me just before half-time if he could take some photographs. When I told him that he could take pictures of the stadium as long as he didn’t photograph the actual game, he produced a photo journalist press pass. As it wasn’t an official Fulham F.C. pass, it was about as useful as something you’d pick up for a few hundred baht on Bangkok’s Kao San Road. I tried to explain to him that he probably could get away with taking a few snapshots discreetly from his seat, but officially I couldn’t say that to him. He finally returned to his seat, though I never found out if he got his pictures.
Fulham’s victory was marred by a serious injury to Bobby Zamora, who broke his leg in the first half and will be out for four months. From what I saw of the incident, it was not a particularly vicious tackle and it seemed that Zamora turned badly after a tackle by a Wolves defender. Unfortunately, the injury overshadowed what I thought was an impressive performance by Mick McCarthy’s team who, in my opinion, were well worth a draw.
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