วันเสาร์ที่ 6 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Hughes satisfied with point from Fulham


Mark Hughes has declared himself satisfied with the point that City took away from Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues took an early lead through Benjani, but Jimmy Bullard brought it back to 1-1 in the first half. Neither side really threatened to run away with the game afterwards, and the Manager was pleased with a solid away display from his team after a week where several players were forced out through injury.

He said: "In truth we are a bit disappointed considering the number of chances we had, certainly in the second half when we got into some wide positions on the right. We didn't quite pick the right pass, but overall in the circumstances we have lost so many players this week.

"I think we had something like 12 senior players out, which is hard to take for anybody. Michael Ball did really well for us today, and he has been off for three days with illness this week. Everybody stood up to be counted, and I was pleased. Our shape was good and we never looked in any real danger of losing the game, with a bit more belief in the final third we could have won it."

One feature of the game was Pablo Zabaleta's forceful display, the Argentinean getting forward and setting up Benjani's goal with a fine cross from right on the touch line.

The Manager continues, "We changed our shape a little bit, we wanted Shaun to get in behind their midfield and that allowed Pablo to join in. He put a great ball in for the header for Benjani, and from that point we were quite comfortable. Fulham had been playing well of late, but we restricted their chances."

With a week's break before the home game against Everton, the Manager is looking to build upon the point gained today.

"This year for whatever reason everybody is packed together very tightly in the table, so if we get a couple of back-to-back wins we'll be in the top half. We have a few home games coming up as well, which we'll look forward to."

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