Silva frustrated after Fulham defeat

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Fulham boss Marco Silva bemoaned his side’s second-half display after relegation-threatened Bournemouth fought back to win 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

Silva’s side were good value for their 1-0 half-time lead thanks to Andreas Pereira’s clinical 15th-minute strike from inside the box.


But Bournemouth dominated after the restart with Marcus Tavernier’s stunning strike and Dominic Solanke’s bundled effort off Antonee Robinson from close range effort sealing a vital win for Gary O’Neil’side.

Fulham could have wrapped the game up before the break, with Robinson hitting the bar from distance and Pereira almost grabbing a second goal with an overhead kick that flew just wide.

“We started the game well and controlled the first half and were clearly the better team,” Silva said.

“We were very good but just lacked the killer instinct to score the second goal to make it so much more difficult for them. But the second half was completely different and hard to understand.

“We prepared the players for what was coming. We knew there would be a reaction and we had to start strong in the second half and it was clear we took too much time to play football.

“The other team got the momentum and in that situation that started to win corners and play around our box and led to a brilliant goal from Tavernier.

“But the second goal we conceded reflects our second-half performance. It was so sloppy and you cannot do that at this level. In the second half we were a completely different team.”

Harrison Reed went off midway through the second half after picking up a knock.

But Silva insisted: “He’s OK. It’s nothing serious.”