Fulham @ Shaktar Donetsk

Well, I've waited for FulhamAg to report, but I'll go ahead.

What a WONDERFUL way for our Lion & Rose winning streak to come to an end. Highlights:

1. Matt called the score and posted it on the site.
2. I pointed out to Matt that the biggest problem we were having was that Shaktar wasn't fouling us when we counter-attacked. I said that if we don't get fouled we're not going to be able to take any free kicks or challenge their goal.
3. Guy born in Houston scores -- if I'm not incorrect, that's Brede's first headed goal for us.
4. As Matt pointed out, Shaktar looked blown out about 65 minutes in. They were doing a lot of standing around. DiSouza came in and was amazing.
5. When Bobby was withdrawn in favor of Elm, both of us were shocked. We figured Gera for sure, since he was our only poor player up to that time. I said. "That's stupid." Matt begins composing his post, "HatterDon calls Roy Hodgson stupid."
6. Matt saying something along the lines of, "It's not Roy. It's not the players. It's this Fullers ESB that's making us so unbeatable.
7. The stats at one point read: Shaktar 0 goals 11 shots; Fulham 1 goal 1 shot.
8. Shaktar were highly accurate from 20-35 yards out. They stung Schwarzer's hands pretty good. The scuffed EVERY shot they took from inside the box until they equalized.
9. WE'RE IN THE SWEET 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ratings:

Schwarzer: Man of the first half if not the match. The goal was not his fault. Except for the one cross he blocked at his near post and fumbled over the line for a corner, he was faultless 9

Baird: A brilliant, brilliant performance by a guy playing out of position. Took a lot fewer runs up the line than he usually does, but he contributed there as well. 7.5

Hangeland: He did the best impersonation of last season's Brede Hangeland we've seen all season. He was huge in defense. My favorite moment was his intercepting a pass, moving up into the center circle, drawing the defense, and calmly slotting over to Duff for a counter attack. 9

Hughes: We stopped counting how many times his boot broke up a Shaktar attack or deflected a goal-bound effort. Steady and calm. 8.5

Kelly: Two good matches in a row against the defending champions WHILE PLAYING OUT OF POSITION should give him some peace from all the detractors, shouldn't it? He made some solid clearances and good interceptions. Only one or two runs up the wing, but he linked well with Simon. 7.5

Duff: Our most creative player again was also probably our best defensive midfielder. When Duff is defending at the edge of our area, that's a good time to relax. When he's at the edge of our opponent's area, that's a good time to get excited. Brilliant free kick. Hangeland only had one foot off the ground when he hammered it home. 8.5

Etuhu: He was better than in the last two matches, but he still breaks up and intercepts better than he passes. Time and again, other players would seize possesion with a flick to a teammate. Dickson didn't do it much. He'll get better. 6.5

Murphy: He had a really solid game for about 91 minutes. He was a pain to their central mids, and was at his usual level contributing to forward movements. I was shocked at the straight red, but Matt said it was merited. Once I saw the replay, I agreed. The guy won possession and started to move and Danny tripped him with his boot at least knee-high. 8

Davies: He had a fairly quiet match as almost all of our creativity was up the right wing, but he supported Kelly brilliantly and he contributed to the Fulham midfield's total domination of Shaktar in the second half. He's getting stronger every game, and I would have liked to have seen him get into their penalty area a bit more. 7.5

Gera: He was a half-step off all day. His only highlight was his breakaway late in the match. I'm not slating him for missing, but it was pretty much his only contribution. The TV never gave a list of who was on the bench, but if Nevland was there, I'd have rather seen him replace Gera than Elm replace Zamora. 5

Zamora: He was strong and stalwart. He had one good crack from the edge of the area, but most of the day he was penalized for fouls the majority of which would have been ignored in the Prem. For much of the match, he was the only guy up front, and he did very well in keeping posession by himself. He helped out quite a bit in defense as well, especially so for the 25-30 corners Shaktar had. 7.5

Hodgson: I've never seen him leap out of his seat and berate an official like he did when Duff was sent flying. Shaktar are not a dirty team, but as they got tired, they got a little chippy. Roy was furious. I hope that incident makes the headlines. The guys executed his plans brilliantly, and we're kicking ass in Europe. 9.5 [but for the Elm substitution, I'd have given him a 10]

Bring on Ajax or Juventus. I don't really care which. This is apparently a team of destiny.