Fulham defender Tim Ream used three words to sum up the mood in the Fulham camp after a disappointing defeat at the hands of Burton Albion, : “Anger, disappointment & regret”.
Fulham went behind early on after Stephen Warnock was on hand to poke in a failed clearance on 12 minutes but Oliver Norwood drew the Whites level before the break.
The Brewers earned three points with a second half penalty from Lucas Akins as Fulham failed to convert a number of chances throughout the game.
“We didn’t play anywhere near what we are capable of playing and we paid for it, simple as that,” Ream told fulhamfc.com.
On that first goal, the American defender recalls the moments leading up to the goal which set the Whites back early on.
“I think Tomas [Kalas] tried to cut that one out and either slid or slipped and Ollie [Norwood] came in to cover him and as he has gone to tackle him he has really just tackled it right into their left back, Warnock, who was just sitting there waiting for a tap in.
“It was a pretty frustrating goal to concede, there were a couple of areas which could’ve been cut out. Obviously in any division you pay for your mistakes and there you go.”
Having been involved in a goal at the wrong end, Northern Ireland midfielder Norwood redeemed himself with a beautiful strike to earn his first goal for the Club just after the half-hour mark.
However Ream revealed that his teammate was left frustrated after missing another big opportunity to score early on.
“He [Norwood] strikes a good ball,” said Ream. “But before that he should have scored with his left from about six yards out, and he will be the first person to tell you that.
“He was more frustrated with that than he was happy with his goal. We know he can strike a ball and if you give him time and space he can do it.”
When referee Steve Martin awarded a penalty in the 51st minute Ream was left as confused as the away travelling support when it came to understanding what had gone on.
“I haven’t seen a replay yet and I couldn’t tell from the other side of the goal.
“I was marking my man and I just saw four or five of our guys around their one man. I don’t know if there was contact or not, like I said I haven’t seen it and I didn’t have a good angle during the play.
“It's not even that it didn’t go our way today, we just didn’t play well. As I said at the beginning when we don’t play well and we are off, it gives teams chances to steal points and to come away with all three points.
“We did have a few chances, I think we hit the crossbar in the second half, but our chances weren’t clear cut enough and towards the end the accuracy of the passing and the crossing was just woeful.
“There is no way around explaining that so it just wasn’t a good day overall for everybody,” said Ream.
“The fans were excellent today, even in the warm-ups we heard them over there. It’s a shame for them and I feel bad for them because we didn’t play well and for them to travel all this way it's not good enough and I can only apologise for the way that we played and the result.
“But like I said they were excellent and they are always excellent no matter where we go or how far we travel, they are always there in fine voice urging us on.”
Fulham’s next opponents are Middlesbrough who sit just outside of the play-off spots and Ream insists Fulham will be gunning for them on Saturday afternoon.
“Middlesbrough have come down having been relegated from the Premier League and they want to be promoted at the first time.
“It is a solid team as most are in this division, if they are not a good footballing side then they are a physical, scrappy, hard side to play against so you are going to get a difficult game every week.
“Anyone can beat anyone and we don’t fear anybody or look past anybody, we’re not worried about them coming down from the Premier League and being better than us, we are a very good side on our day, when we play the way we are capable of playing.”