Jol left frustrated by draws

Jol left frustrated by draws

Published Sep. 16, 2011 9:15 a.m. ET

Mark Schwarzer's own goal condemned the Cottagers to a frustrating 1-1 draw against the Dutch club in a tie which they dominated for the most part. The west Londoners took the lead courtesy of a neat Andrew Johnson flick but the visitors' equaliser left Fulham reflecting on their third home draw in four matches. While Fulham's unbeaten European record at Craven Cottage remained intact, Jol was frustrated that his side could only eke out a point. "I felt you can't do more than we did in the first half," he said. "Everything went well. We pressed them at the right times and scored from that [period] as well. "We played good football and the second half was probably different because we tried to force the issue. "Then they had some space to hit us on the break and they did that a couple of times. "That is the only thing. If you don't score goals easily enough then you still have to try to. "Keeping our shape is a lesson we have learned for next time but the worry of course is four matches and three draws. "I have to say all those games we have been the better team. "It is the same story. Against Aston Villa we were the better team, against Blackburn the same and now. "Of course I cannot blame anyone because they did well but we have had to put a lot of energy in. "With a game against Manchester City coming up [on Sunday], that is the only disappointing thing." Fulham's performance belied their poor Barclays Premier League showings, but Schwarzer's own goal forced the teams to share the points. The Australia international was unfortunate to deflect home a Luuk de Jong header that rebounded off the post, against the goalkeeper, and in just before the break in the Group K encounter. "It was not poor defending," said Jol of the equaliser. "Steve Sidwell tried to do his hardest, getting back. "The only thing is they had one striker, picked the ball up and turned. "Then everybody was in shape and Steve tried to head the ball but Brede [Hangeland] was behind him so there was no problem. "But because of that flick he scored. I think it was a bit lucky. "We tried not to concede and I feel, especially at home, you have to take the game to the opposition and try to score goals. "That is the only thing. I think that in Europe in a one off game you have to try and take three points. "I think Schwarzer did well. I don't think you can blame him for the goal but he will be disappointed with the result." Twente coach Co Adriaanse, who has previously faced Jol as both a manager and a player, was proud of his team's performance in London and felt they could even have grabbed a winner. "If you look at the course of the game, Fulham played well," he said. "They had phases in the first half and also in the second when they applied a lot of pressure. "The goal we conceded was due to our mistake, which of course was a mental blow for us. "In the second half, Martin Jol made quite a few substitutions which resulted in a line-up quite similar to the one from last Sunday - basically his strongest side. "At the end of the game we expected more pressure and tried their chances from corners. "But we continued to play our football and created chances ourselves. "At the end, you could say we could have won this game but I am happy with the way we played football, created chances."

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