Fulham draw ‘fair’ for injury-hit Tottenham, says Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou believes his side Tottenham were worth a point despite being far from their best in the 1-1 draw against Fulham.

Brennan Johnson's sixth Premier League goal of the season was canceled out by Tom Cairney's stunning effort, although the latter was sent off late on for a foul on Dejan Kulusevski.

The result saw the hosts miss the chance to move within a point of the top four, with their inconsistency proving to be their Achilles heel this season.

Tottenham achieved an expected goals total (xG) of 0.65 compared to Fulham's 1.38, although Postecoglou said his injury-hit side deserved a point on home soil.

“A point was probably deserved. It was a close game. Neither team opened up too much. It was difficult for both teams to dominate,” said the head coach.

“It was probably always going to be decided with half chances, and in the end we drew.

“For the most part we handled it well, we should have taken that one to put some pressure on them. It looked like we were coming on top and then they scored.

“They haven't created any burdens. We're pretty thin on the ground, so I can't ask much more from them at this point.”

Postecoglou also praised Fraser Forster, who became the oldest player to play for Spurs in the Premier League on Sunday since Brad Friedel in November 2013.

Forster made five saves against Fulham and denied attempts from Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez either side of half-time.

“He made some important saves for us and it's good to have someone from that area stepping in,” Postecoglou said of his goalkeeper's performance.

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However, Marco Silva believed that Fulham were the only worthy winners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Cottagers had several chances to punish Tottenham's sloppy play in possession, but failed to take their chances.

Fulham are now unbeaten in their last eight Premier League derbies in London (four won, four drawn), the longest ever run for the club, with Silva praising his side's performance.

“I think everyone should recognize that we are the team that deserved to win this afternoon. We deserved to win. We played our way with our identity on the field.”

“Myself, the players and the fans can be proud. We should have been at the top with the chances we got. We have to be realistic that Tottenham also got chances.”

Silva also gave his thoughts on Cairney's dismissal, with the Fulham captain given his marching orders 16 minutes after scoring the equalizer for the Cottagers.

“First of all, I know him. Tom Cairney is not the player for that, everyone knows that,” he said.

“I have to be realistic and honest with you. Everyone knows that I am the first to ask him to be more aggressive in the right way, to maintain certain principles as a midfielder in that situation, but he is not the type of player who should do that.” things like that.

“He stamped on his leg and looking at the images it should of course have been a red card. We have to accept that Tom Cairney was really unlucky because he is not that type of player.”