Jeff Stelling shares verdict on West Brom red card v Fulham
Darnell Furlong’s red card compounded a poor afternoon at Craven Cottage for West Brom as they lost 3-0 against Fulham, who moved to the top of the Championship table.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was the star of the show for the home side as he kept up his red-hot form in front of goal, scoring all three goals to bring up his 18th Championship goal this season.
However, there were a number of controversial moments at which West Brom will feel aggrieved, not least the penalty that the Serbian centre-forward won in the first half.
The red card handed to Furlong in the 70th-minute for a foul on Harry Wilson also raised a few eyebrows, such as from Sky Sports Soccer Saturday host Stelling, though he ended up siding with the referee’s decision.
Stelling said: “Darnell Furlong, it was a bit debatable, wasn’t it?
“But in the end, he probably didn’t get enough of the ball.
“Consequently, West Brom are down to 10 [players], Fulham lead two goals to nil.”
Closer look
On further viewings, the general consensus seems to be that Furlong did indeed get a foot on the ball.
Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield tweeted to that effect, as did former Birmingham Mail journalist Chris Lepkowski.
West Brom didn’t have the rub of the green on decisions today, but that cannot mask the mistakes that came before them.
Even on this example, it was way too easy for the Cottagers to slice open the away defence and give Wilson the chance of bearing down on goal, with Furlong behind both man and ball.
Valerien Ismael can not just hide behind the officials – he must take accountability for the manner in which his side lost to one of their main rivals for automatic promotion.
At this rate, Albion will be fighting it out for the play-off spots, rather than the top-two positions.
In other West Brom news, Steve Madeley has shared if Kenneth Zohore is set for an Albion reprieve after this Jordan Hugill suggestion.
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