A crisp winter lunchtime a few days into the new millennium saw a Fulham side visit Maine Road looking for three points to boost their ailing play-off hopes. Between them and a top six position, but a good distance behind runaway leaders ourselves and Charlton Athletic, stood current Premier League members Blackburn Rovers and Wolves, and surprisingly Andy Kilner's Stockport County.
The West London club had taken the third tier by storm the previous year, amassing a century of points and playing some scintillating football under the tutelage of Kevin Keegan, who'd later have similar success a league up here. By the time the 99/00 season had started, though, the Liverpool legend had left for a short-lived stint as national team boss, being replaced by assistant Paul Bracewell.
Chairman Al Fayed had backed his new manager in the transfer market, allowing him to recruit the likes of Lee Clark from Sunderland for £3m along with experienced team-mates Andy Melville and Kevin Ball. German legend Karlheinze Reidle also joined after a two-year spell at Anfield, and winger Bjarne Goldbaek from Chelsea.
After a disappointing start to the previous December, including a pasting at Wolves and a 1-2 humbling on our own pitch by Stockport, we had put together a run of good results, five unbeaten before a televised FA Cup mauling by a very good Leeds side including Harry Kewell, Alan Smith, Jonathan Woodgate and later City forward Darren Huckerby. Fulham themselves had only lost one of their last dozen.
Bermudan forward Shaun Goater would end the season with an incredible 29 goals in 45 starts, rarely was he more destructive than on this day, scoring a perfect hat-trick; left foot, right food, header. The first arrived just shy of the half hour, Taylor dropping into his own half and pinging a delicious ball out to the right flank for then captain Richard Edghill to chase. Beating Rufus Brevett to the ball the former QPR man fell flat on his arse, leaving chance for Edghill to find Goater in the middle. Half falling over the big man managed to drill home past Maik Taylor with his trailing left peg.
The visitors would put up quite a good fist of it from that point on, until defender Chris Coleman earned himself a red card with twenty minutes left on the clock. Tony Grant, playing only his fifth game for the club after signing from Everton on Christmas Eve, picked up the ball in the edge of our area, hitting a splendid, sixty yard, outside-of-the-foot pass to Goater. On cutting inside Coleman tripped, and almost lying down clung to the ball with both hands to prevent a second.
Three more goals would follow as Fulham capitulated. Horlock floated an inswinging free-kick in from the right, Grant's jump sufficiently put the 'keeper off and the ball fell to Goater with his back turned to goal. What followed could, i suppose, be described as an overhead kick, just not the most delicate sort you might ever see, more an eyes shut hook towards goal amid a melee of bodies, but they all count.
The Goat would tie his treble up shortly afterwards, a fierce Tiatto corner finding the head of centre-half Richard Jobson. The former Oldham stalwart would direct a strong header towards the far bottom corner, Taylor saved with his outstretched boot only for the ball to fall to Goater just a yard or two from goal, heading home one of the easiest goals he'd score during his time at the club.
Kevin Horlock would grab a late fourth from the penalty spot. Jobson's long ball found the Taylor in the air, his cushioned header fell at the feet of Goater whose slick lay-off resulted in the advancing Bishop in acres of space. The midfielder, back at the club for a second spell nine years after leaving for West Ham, threaded a perfect pass between the two defenders, Tiatto racing onto it and being cynically brought down. As usual Super Kev made no mistake.
They'd go on to miss out on a play-off slot, their poor away form ultimately costing them. The next season, however, they'd win the division at a canter, another 100-point campaign under Frenchman Jean Tigana, Bracewell having been sacked after a four-game winless run in March. We'd miss out on the league title by just two points, but would still gain promotion as the early pace-setters took eachother all the way.
Team:
Weaver, Edghill, Granville, Wiekens, Jobson, Horlock, Bishop, Grant, Goater, G.Taylor, Kennedy
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