Martin Jol got his Fulham reign off to a winning start as they brushed aside the part-timers from the Faeroe Isles. And now he would like to get back to the summer, if that is all right with Uefa.
But such is the Europa League and Fulham’s entry into it via the Fair Play League, they were playing on the last night of June — and indeed it was still light at the final whistle last night, 38 days after the final match of the Barclays Premier League season.
Damien Duff, Danny Murphy and Andrew Johnson scored to ensure that Jol can afford to head to the Faeroe Isles next week with the second string, after he and the first team enjoy a day at Wimbledon.
“I am a tennis fan,” the Fulham manager said. “I haven’t been this year. We wanted to go but it was raining. Hopefully we can go in the next couple of days. It would be fantastic to watch [Andy] Murray.”
It was fitting that Jol began his stint at Craven Cottage in the Europa League with what turned out to be an easy victory, given that his last game in England four years ago was in the same competition — albeit with a different name — with Tottenham Hotspur.
Advertisement
And it could have been a much bigger margin, were it not for Andras Gango, the visiting goalkeeper, who denied Bobby Zamora a hat-trick’s worth of chances.
Jol named the strongest squad available to him, given the absence of Clint Dempsey and Carlos Salcido through international duty, and Moussa Dembélé’s ankle injury.
But Fulham were lucky not to fall behind on 25 minutes when Justinius Hansen, a holding midfield player, was left alone to fire just wide of Mark Schwarzer’s post.
Duff broke the deadlock seven minutes later, running on to Zamora’s lay-off to fire home from 15 yards. The England striker might have added two more either side of the break but for Gango’s fingertips.
Danny Murphy scored from the penalty spot just before the hour mark, after Simon Davies had been brought down by Helgi Petersen. Johnson added a third on 68 minutes as the pace began to take its toll, but Gango was on hand once more to keep out Zamora, this time with his feet from close range.
Advertisement
Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer — C Baird, A Hughes, B Hangeland, M Briggs — S Davies (sub: B H Riise, 69min), D Murphy, D Etuhu (sub: S Sidwell, 74), D Duff — R Zamora (sub: L Dalla Valle, 79), A Johnson. Substitutes not used: D Stockdale, S Kelly, P Senderos, J Greening.
NSI Runavik (4-1-4-1): A Gango — J Fredericksburg, J Joensen, H Petersen, P Mikkelsen — J Hansen — J Mortensen (sub: M Olsen, 85), C Jacobsen, H Lakjuni, D Danielsen (sub: A Fredricksburg, 77) — K Olsen (sub: A Liknargotu, 90). Substitutes not used: K Joensen, M Sorensen. Booked: Petersen.
Referee: B Brugger (Austria).