Jol proud of fighting Fulham

Fulham manager Martin Jol has praised his team for coming ‘back from the death’ to draw 2-2 with powerhouses Manchester City on Sunday.

The Dutchman believes his side showed great belief and mentality to pull back two goals after Sergio Aguero had put City ahead, especially after a tiring performance during their midweek game with FC Twente in the Europa League.

The result earned Fulham their third point from five games, but it was the nature of how they earned it that pleased Jol most.

“We were back, I would say, from the death, is what we probably did, and then we had the belief and the mentality,” he said.

“We were a bit tired, but we could see [City] were a bit tired as well after [playing Napoli on] Wednesday because they played roughly the same team, so it was a fantastic achievement to come back against them. Nobody knows, but I don’t think they will give away leads like this in the future.”

“We played well against Aston Villa and Blackburn for almost nothing, I felt, and the players felt the same. I still feel that we deserved more, but we only got two points.”

“Today we still only got a point, but to show against a team like [City] that you can come back after two goals, I think it will give us a big boost and big confidence for the future.”

“Normally to [comeback from two goals down] against any team would be good, but especially against Man City.”

“After what happened in the first half and then we came out of the dressing room with very good intentions, to be better, to do different things and then concede a goal like that is unexpected.”

Meanwhile, City boss Roberto Mancini was disappointed after letting a two-goal lead slip.

“I think every game is like this. It’s difficult here in England. When a team is losing 2-0 here they try, always, and they quickly score a first goal then they are back in the match,” the Italian said.

“All the players need to defend. For 10 of 15 minutes we were defending with five or six players, it’s not good enough.”

Despite queries over his defence, he refused to blame the back four for allowing Fulham back into the match.

“I don’t think the players switched off. We have started the season very well. We had better chances and should have scored more,” he said.