LONDON, England (CMC):
Reggae Boy Bobby Reid said it was critical to make an impact off the bench after scoring in Fulham’s topsy-turvy 3-3 draw with Sheffield United away at Bramall Lane.
With Fulham trailing 3-1 on Saturday, the 31-year-old netted the visitors’ second goal in the 86th after coming off the bench a minute earlier, inspiring a rally that was capped off by Rodrigo Muniz’s injury time strike.
“As players coming off the bench, we have to try and change the game and affect it and that’s what we did, and it, obviously, gave us belief, and they sat back deeper, and it was a chance for us to keep pushing,” Reid said.
“The third goal from Rodrigo was unbelievable. We pushed, we pushed, but it wasn’t to be. But we put ourselves in that position – we should have been clear. We should’ve won the game.”
He continued: “It’s difficult because, obviously, we put ourselves in a position where we were chasing the game, and it’s probably down to our own mistakes, and we all understand that.
“It was, obviously, good character from the lads to come and change it and get the draw at the end of the day and probably should’ve won it.
“Like I said, it’s probably our own doing. We’ve got to be better, and we’ll learn from it and go again.”
The goal was Reid’s seventh of the season and second of the year and came after Sheffield United had stormed to a 3-1 lead, courtesy of Don Brereton’s (58th, 70th) double and Oli McBurnie’s 68th-minute strike.
João Palhinha pulled one back for Fulham in the 62nd before Reid unleashed a low volley from 22 yards out, which gave goalkeeper Ivo Grbić little chance.
“It was a nice little pass from [Tom Cairney] – I think it was my second touch,” Reid said.
“I’m confident in them positions, so [I was] happy to see it go in and, obviously, it sparked a little comeback from us.”
Fulham have now lost only twice in their last eight outings and lie 12th on 39 points, with eight Premier League games left.
And Reid said he was convinced Fulham could have emerged from the contest with full points had they not conceded so many goals early on.
“We knew that we could get chances and we could win the game but being smart at the same time,” he pointed out.
“When we tried to win it, we huffed and puffed, and we didn’t have that clear-cut chance in the end.
“But we tried, and the lads have to be proud of the way we came back, but at the same time, we have to be mindful of how we got into that position in the first place.”