The USMNT center back bashed home a banger to give Fulham a big away win against Crystal Palace in December 2022
Tim Ream does not usually score goals. Why should he? After all, this is a finesse-based center back, who does most of his good stuff when the camera isn't on him. He is not a great header of the ball, nor is he one to rip them from range. This is not a footballer who most teams would count on to provide in front of goal.
That is a valuable context for what happened on Dec. 26, 2022. The World was in the midst of recovery from the 2022 World Cup. And in the post-Qatar haze, Ream bashed home a wonderful strike for his club – marking his first goal in a Fulham shirt. It came at a crucial juncture, too. Fulham had lost back-to-back games before the World Cup break. Crystal Palace, away, seemed a good opportunity to pick up some valuable points. Ream sealed all three emphatically and helped set off a winning run that got the Cottagers' season back on track.
GOAL US takes a look at a moment that was deceptively decisive in the scope of Fulham's Premier League season.
Getty ImagesWhat happened?
Selhurst Park is a nasty ground for visitors. The stands tower over the pitch, and on a nippy, typically English post Christmas day, there are very few away trips that could be less favorable for a team looking to get back on track. Enter Marco Silva's Fulham, struggling for form and confidence.
The Cottagers made this fearsome stadium look like a training pitch. Bobby De Cordova-Reid got the scoring going after 31 minutes with a well-taken header. Palace then helped the visitors out shortly after, when Tyrick Mitchell threw in a dangerous tackle – and was rightly shown red. Still, at half time, Fulham held a narrow advantage. Anything could have happened.
In the 71st minute, Ream ensured that the points only went one way. After venturing up for a corner, Ream took an Aleksandar Mitrovic knockdown, swiveled, and bashed the ball past a helpless keeper. A big win was sealed. Mitrovic's third, on 80 minutes, wrapped up a fine victory.
AdvertisementGettyWhy it mattered
There are 38 games in a Premier League season, and in the scope of a whole campaign, it's often hard to pin big changes on individual moments. But Ream's strike to seal all three points was crucial. Fulham are a distinctly mid-table side, and that year were prone to fluctuations in form under Silva. Sure, they were too good to go down, but any bad slips could have brought about a bit of a slide.
Ream's goal, then, stopped one before it started. Three losses on the bounce would have been bad, especially in the hectic December-January slate when there is little time to regroup and change. What happened instead was a run of four straight wins – enough to steer the season away from jeopardy.
The kind of league-defining strike that grabs headlines? Absolutely not. But this was an important moment for a team that needed one.
GettyFrom those who were there
Ream's goal came in the midst of a fantastic season for the USMNT center back. The clip generated appropriate social media hype, with USMNT legend Stu Holden shouting him out.
Ream himself admitted that it was a question of instinct.
"I wasn’t sure that I’d ever get (a Premier League goal) to be honest. It’s not something I’m known for, my goalscoring exploits. But if the ball drops and you see it, you go for it," he told The Athletic.
But the captain also emphasized that a defensive play, made earlier in the half, was far more important.
"Scoring the goal helps but I was actually saying in there to the guys that I was more excited when (Michael) Olise was running at me (in the second half), and he cuts inside and I make the block on his shot. I was way more pumped for that. It’s just playing with confidence and having the confidence of the guys around you and the manager," he said.
But perhaps the most revealing reaction to it all was the jubilation of his Fulham teammates, who seemed more surprised that Ream based one home than the man himself.
AFPWhat came next
The goal – the game – continued Ream's late-career renaissance. He anchored a solid Fulham backline, saw the side to a respectable 10th-place finish, and helped build the foundation for what two years later, despite his departure, is a genuine European contending side. Ream, of course, is now in MLS. But he is still in the USMNT picture – and should stay there.
Earlier that campaign, Man City manager Pep Guardiola famously told the defender that if he were 10 years younger, he would be playing for his side. That compliment – back handed or otherwise – says it all.
