Marco Silva’s hopes of Fulham win dashed by Middlesbrough’s Marc Bola

08-Aug-2021 16:25:31 | The Guardian

If Fulham endure a season of afternoons like this, their yo-yo might lose its elasticity. So often do they bounce to and from the Championship that plenty in their ranks are aware of its unique hustle by now; it was still a surprise, though, that a match they controlled almost in its entirety ended in intense frustration.

For Middlesbrough and Neil Warnock, this was an assignment carried out to the letter. Their approach could be boiled down to ensuring they stayed in the game for as long as possible: they did not let a fine opener by Harry Wilson, which came at a point when proceedings had become niggly beyond recognition, perturb them and held on despite riding their luck at times. They levelled through their only shot on target and, with the wind in their sails, looked likelier to snatch a victory late on.