Fulham attacker Harry Wilson says he is glad that he has proved he can score when starting games as well as when coming off the bench.
The Wales international has had a sensational season as an impact sub – netting an unforgettable double in the 2-1 home win over Brentford and the equaliser at Stamford Bridge that was followed by a key role in Rodrigo Muniz’s injury-time winner on Boxing Day.
The reward for that star turn at Chelsea was a rare start in Sunday’s home game against Bournemouth – and he scored in a 2-2 draw which extends his team’s fine unbeaten run to seven games.
The winger said: “I’m not a player who likes being on the bench, so when I’m starting I want to make sure I’m contributing.
“I’m delighted to have scored my first goal as a starter. A win would have been nicer, but it’s good to get to five goals and to be in a good position, with the team on a good run.
“We would like to have won a couple more games but to have an unbeaten run as long as we have is tough to do in the Premier League.
“We’re in a good moment and if we get a few more wins then we’ll be a bit happier. We’ve been missing a lot of key players. We were fairly lucky with injuries last season and at the start of this season but we’ve been really hit in the last month or two.
“The lads who have come in, who maybe haven’t played as much, have done really well and it’s been a real squad effort. To go unbeaten in the last seven games, with some really tough games in there, shows we’re a good team, but I also feel we can get better.”
Wilson nodded home Fulham’s second goal as he found the back of the net for the fifth time in his last 10 appearances. Raul Jimenez had put the Whites ahead just before half-time with his sixth of the season, with Evanilson equalising for the Cherries after the break.
Wilson’s 72nd-minute goal, set up by the ever-excellent Antonee Robinson, looked like it was going to be the winning goal, but the Whites conceded a second equaliser a minute from time – Dango Ouattara netting with a clever dink over Bernd Leno.
“When you concede that late and don’t win the game, it always feels a bit worse than what it actually is,” Wilson said. “A point was probably fair but when you’re ahead that late in the game you’re always disappointed not to hold on to the win.
“The game was a little bit end-to-end, particularly after the 60th and 70th minute. After we went ahead, we had a few chances to go 3-1 up and put the game to bed, but when you don’t do that there’s always a chance the other team will create one or two chances, and they were able to put one away.”
PICTURE: ALAMY