Pompey coverage

Here are links to our coverage of yesterday's momentous day:

FtF goes to Pompey

Player rankings

Just not good enough...

What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday evening we were experiencing the most unbelievable high after taking all three away to Reading. Tonight we are staring relegation in the face once again. It wasn't for the lack of trying. We had plenty of chances to get something out of this match but a combination of poor finishing and defensive mistakes (the story of our season) meant we ended up with nothing. The atmosphere in the stadium after Pennant crashed home Liverpool's opener died instantly and never recovered. To be honest we didn't do enough to lift the players, but then again we didn't have a great deal to cheer about. All told a thorougly disappointing afternoon. We now travel to Man City with everything slipping away...

Reading v Fulham: FtF coverage

Here are the links to all our pieces on yesterday's match

Match report

Player rankings

Post mortem: Anecdotes from the game

Fulham win AWAY!!!

“Keep the Faith. FFC.” It was a simple message scrawled on the toilet wall at Reading’s Madejski Stadium, but it was enough to remind us that our season is not over...not yet at least.

This was a team that scrapped for every ball; refused to give in; and emerged worthy winners after 90 of the most gripping, nail biting minutes of the season.

So good was this performance; so polished was the passing and so clinical the finishing for the goals, it was hard to believe that we had not enjoyed a victory on the road for 19 months.

“We’re winning away, how shit must you be, we’re winning away”, baited the Fulham faithful after McGod crashed the opener home from a Simon Davies cross.

Funny as it was, this was actually harsh on our lads who had thoroughly deserved the lead. Non-stop running, non-stop attacking and full of heart. Terrific stuff.

We then had a string of chances to put the game out of Reading’s reach with Brian, Hangeland and Bully all going close with a shot, header and free kick, respectively.

“We’ve hit it three times, that f****ng crossbar, we’ve hit it three times” we sang, followed by: “The bar! We’re gonna hit the bar” after being awarded a free kick just outside the area.

The disbelief that referee Rob Stiles decided we needed four extra minutes – FOUR!!!! – was soon forgotten as Erik “the Viking” Nevland charged through and secured the three points.

“The Whites are staying up!” we sang, more in hope than expectation. Disappointingly news filtered through that Bolton had beaten the hammers but Brum’s draw with Everton gave us a lift.

We are now just four points from safety but while that’s great, the feeling still remains of what might have been. Wins against Derby and Sunderland and we’d be out of the relegation places. Agonising.

FtF goes to Derby

Having a young family - and all that entails - means that away trips are a rare luxury these days, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

The team's perilous league position makes it vital that as many fans as possible follow them on the road. So with that in mind we set the alarm for 5.30am on Saturday for the long trek to Derby.

Living on the south coast meant catching the 7am train up to London Victoria, then a District Line tube to Putney Bridge. Then it was a 20 minute stroll through Bishop's Park - always guaranteed to put you in a good frame of mind - before arriving at the Cottage in time to join one of the 14 coaches laid on by the chairman.

A three and a half hour trip - including a half-hour stop for lunch at a service area - saw us arrive with about 20 minutes to go before kick-off. Thankfully, someone had brought along a DVD of Al Murray, Pub Landlord, which succeeded in calming our nerves on the second leg of the journey.

For those who have never been, Pride Park is a pretty impressive stadium. Set on an industrial estate - the type filled with the usual selection of outlets, such as Halfords - it is clear of local residents and the usual noise gripes, and has the benefit of a huge car park used by season ticket holders and plenty of space for away coaches.

After walking through that annoying, drizly rain, and going through the turnstiles, we were met with a wall of noise. It may be a cliche but our fans were in very good voice and there was a real feeling of optimism. Would it last?



We took our seats in the upper tier and sang all the way through a rather hit-and-miss first half which consisted of that sinking feeling of seeing a deflection past Keller for their opener - and then the unconstrained joy of Joe's equalising header. Here we go. Plenty of time to snatch the winner.

Half-time arrived with the scores level and it was off to scout some food. The gates were actually opened allowing you to buy burgers from outside stalls, have a smoke and stretch your legs. The stewards and police were courteous and chatty. All we needed now was three points and a happy trip home was guaranteed.

Despite a scrappy start to the second 45 we were sent into delirium by Hameur's messy, deflected goal. "We're winning away...how sh*t must you be we're winning away" we sang to the home supporters. Needless to say we hadn't sat back down before their equaliser came. I didn't even see it. Soul destroying.

Chances came and were squandered; Keller pulled off some great saves; but there was a feeling that this just wasn't going to be our day...or season for that matter. The away faithful were getting restless. Calls for Roy to "sort it out" and make some changes were finally answered with the arrival of Eddie Johnson and Danny Murphy, but it was too late to have much effect.

As the minutes ticked down, Derby fans stared singing: "Going down, going down, going down" to which we responded: "So are we, so are we, so are we". At the final whistle there was a mixture of applause and boos with most people resigned to the fact that the Great Escape no longer looks likely. The guards, it seems, have discovered the tunnel being built and there's not enough time left in which to build another.

It may have been a draw but it felt like a defeat and the mood on the coach was sombre. A three hour run back - including a five minute break on the hard shoulder while the driver relieved himself! - meant we were back at a rain swept Cottage shortly before 8.30pm. It was then a walk, tube, mainline train and drive back home which saw us through the door around midnight.

A disappointing day, full of what-ifs and what might have beens, but we felt proud to have been part of Roy's Army for the day. Even if we do go down we can take heart from the fact that we couldn't have had any more fans at recent away matches, nor been in greater voice.

The tickets for Reading and Pompey away have already arrived. If this is going to be the last hurrah! in the Premier League - for a year or two at least - we at FtF are determined to enjoy it. Roll on next weekend.

Opinion: Derby v Fulham

It was a late decision - 6am Saturday morning, in fact - but we were at Derby yesterday afternoon to see what must surely be the final nail hammered into our coffin. Not being able to secure three points against a team already doomed to relegation or even hold on to a lead for more than 30 seconds tells you all you need to know about our woeful season.

The performance was pretty poor and disjointed; changes were made too late in the game to have much effect; and worryingly we didn't even look like we knew what to do when we had the ball. Shocking stuff all told.

The result was made all the worse by both Sunderland and Birmingham winning - the latter, of course, being the team we had an outside chance of overhauling. They're now six points ahead (seven if you count goal difference) which makes it look highly improbable that we'll be playing Premier League football next season.

I shall be on later with my diary for our day trip to Derby plus player ratings.

An opinion: Fulham v Everton

You can't describe this as a classic football match to watch and there were plenty of things not to like, such as Jimmy B's wayward passing, but it was an occasion on which the result mattered far more than the performance.

Ignore the media droning on about the Toffees' European hangover, this was a fantastic victory over a very good Everton side. One of the best, in fact, that has come out of that side of Merseyside for many years.

Roy got the tactics pretty much bang on. Having two players up front works infinitely better - I can recall us all chanting: Four, Four, Two at Coleman and, when he eventually conceded defeat and implemented this strategy, it helped turn us around.

I like the look of Eddie Johnson - despite the dogs abuse he was subjected to from some people behind me in the Hammy End. He's quick, unsettles defenders and possesses a fierce shot. It will come together for him and when it does we'll have a superstar on our hands.

It was a great goal from Brian who started to look back to his best; winning headers and putting himself about; and a great cross from Simon Davies, even though he squirmed the chance to put the match out of reach with an opportunity he can normally be relied upon to bury.

All in all a great day out.

Any hope gets a Hammering

On the miserable walk back alongside the Thames I heard a commentator on some fan's radio saying: "Fulham were very unlucky...but how often can you keep saying that?" I thought it summed up our season perfectly.

Yes we were unlucky; No we didn't deserve to lose (although we didn't do enough to earn a victory either); but we have said that after the vast majority of games this season. The simple fact is that we're not good enough - at the moment at least - to compete at this level.

We have the makings of a decent side but we need more time and that, sadly, is a commodity that is in rather short supply. After letting myself dream the impossible dream after the Villa game that we could avoid relegation, reality has finally dawned. We're going down.

Niemi's brilliance against Derby

Antti Niemi's performance was so good yesterday that I felt it deserved its own post.


First half

1. Derby float the ball towards our area, Fagan chests it back to Miller who pushes it wide to Oakley, then gets it back and thunders in a shot that Niemi does well to parry.

2. Aaron Hughes is beaten by the bounce of the ball which is then floated forward by Miller to Lewis who outstrips the remaining defenders and forces another great save.

3. Miller pushes the ball out to Pearson whose testing cross comes off Hughes' head and is saved by Niemi on the line.

Second half

4. An Oakley rocket from outside the area is parried by Niemi

5. He saves a close range header from Barnes with his feet

6. Another powerful drive from Barnes is well saved

7. Fagan gets in a shot but this one is easily saved by Niemi

8. Miller charges through and shoots but Niemi saves again

Fulham v Derby: An opinion

But for the brilliance of Antti Niemi, yesterday could have been an even bigger disaster. Our Finnish stopper was back to his best and boy did he need to be. He pulled off save after save to keep us in the match and guaranteed that we walked away with at least one point.

But is a draw really good enough against the league's bottom side? A team that have conceded a whopping 22 goals in nine games; failed to score either a goal or point away from home; and which have been on the wrong end of four, five and six-nil drubbings? Of course it's not.

The players knew it; Mohamed Al Fayed in the stands knew it; and the fans that serenaded the team off with a chorus of boos at half and full time knew it. We have been very patient with this new team but two months into the season the teething problems should have been sorted out.

Yes there were a few mitigating circumstances. Konchesky getting sent off in first-half injury time after reacting like a schoolboy and swinging an elbow when Fagan held him was a contributing factor, but the fact remains we were awful from the start.

Sanchez made five changes from the side that lost to Pompey. In a number of cases this was to give a rest to those players who had turned out for their countries last week. However, this had the effect of cutting out ALL the creative flair from the midfield as both Simon Davies and Alexey Smertin were relegated to the bench.

Thus we resorted to the miserable plan of lumping balls up to Clint Dempsey in the hope that he will be able to claim all the headers against man-mountain defenders as well as grabbing some goals and setting up Kamara. No, I didn't think that was going to work either.

Don't get me wrong. Dempsey was one of our best performers but the only way we were going to get behind Derby's back four was by playing it on the ground. We didn't. We struggled.

Elsewhere, Seol was woeful. Does he lack pace or is he not match fit? He's obviously got the skills but he plays like a 45-year-old ex-pro. Murphy was ineffective, Bouazza didn't really make his mark on the game and Steven Davis was not the controlling influence I hoped he would be.

Our defence, on the other hand, was relatively solid, although the lack of midfield grit meant the back four were tested on far more occasions than was acceptable. Baird had his best game in a white shirt (thankfully), Stefanovich was relatively solid and Konchesky was okay in his brief stint. Hughes, however, had a howler. Almost scoring an own goal and letting Miller through for a strike were his worst mistakes but there were plenty of others.

Our best chances were the two in the first half: one scuffed by Murphy and a Blaird thunderbolt which was well saved - and Dempsey's two attempts in the second, as well as a decent effort from David Healy which, again, was saved by Bywater.

In my opinion Derby have every right to feel robbed. They had some cracking efforts and if they had caught Niemi on a bad day they could have bolstered their goal difference by four or five goals...easily.

Some credit has to go to the players for battling hard and not conceding when we were down to ten men but the harsh reality is that we didn't deserve anything more than a point. Even if Konchesky had stayed on the pitch I can't see how we'd have found the back of the net.

Bizarrely, the way the other games went we actually rose five places yesterday so we're now sitting in a relativley healthy looking 13th spot. That should fool no-one. Unless a marked improvement is made in our next two games then Sanchez needs to make way.

Fulham v Portsmouth: An opinion

I have never been to a match which featured two such contrasting halves of football. During the first 45 minutes I was constantly on my feet as David James was forced to pull off save after save. For most of the second I was slumped in my seat; unable to comprehend the horror show happening in front of my eyes.

Before the match started I had predicted a 1-1 scoreline, but after witnessing the flowing moves, the superb cross-field passes, the exquisite skills of Bouazza and the damage being inflicted by Dempsey, I revised that opinion to 2-0. Ironically I got the scoreline right - I just didn't believe it would end up being a home reverse.

Whatever Harry said to his boys in the dressing room did the trick. The Pompey side that emerged from the tunnel at 5.15pm was vastly different to the one that we had been turning inside out. After their second goal hit the back of the net you knew it was over. The players' reactions said it all. They were defeated and we would be leaving empty-handed.

Even Sanchez' s triple substitution had little effect. Seol, being used as a right winger, cut in well, but Kamara was contained and Murphy invisible. It was only thanks to some saves from Keller and some last ditch tackling by the ever-consistent Konchesky that kept the scoreline respectable - if that's what you can call a 2-0 defeat...at home.

For me, yesterday summed up our season perfectly: brilliant, exciting football, but an inability to kill off games and weakness in the defence and midfield which allows teams a route back into matches - no matter how undeserved. Lawrie can talk all he likes about how well we've been playing etc, but that doesn't matter a jot. All we should be caring about is getting points.

Chelsea v Fulham: An opinion

In the hours since yesterday's match at the Bridge ended I've been struggling to work out exactly how I feel. Am I elated that we performed well or disappointed that we failed to make the most of, arguably, our best ever chance of beating our nearest rivals on their own patch.

After watching the highlights - repeatedly - I think a draw was a fair result. Both teams had great chances to take all three points, and while we can bemoan the fact that Konchesky and Kamara failed to capitalise late on, it's only fair to acknowledge Chelsea came very close too.

It was definitely our best performance at Stamford Bridge since we were promoted to the Premier League in my opinion. We hustled for everything, defended superbly and, eventually, brought the best out of Petr Czech who is a world-class goalkeeper.

Starting from the back then... For the first time this season I felt we had someone between the sticks who was confident, and more importantly, had the confidence of his defenders. This is something we've been badly lacking with Niemi in the side.

Our defence played very well against arguably one of the world's best strike forces. Yes, there were times when Chelsea broke through. Kalou turned Baird inside out on one occassion and Joe Cole managed to get some dangerous crosses past Konchesky, but generally we were solid.

Baird, in particular, visibly grew in confidence as the game progressed and made some fantastic challenges. Bizarrely, this wasn't enough to stop him coming under fire from some quarters of the crowd - to my utter disbelief - but I will save that for a later post.

In midfield, Smertin played like his life depended on it and Simon Davies was absolutely everywhere. He must have run miles...back in defence one minute, attacking the next, falling back to break up a Chelsea attack, spreading balls about....he was outstanding.

Sadly, the only area in which we were disappointing was up front. How typical it is that the first match all season that we manage to keep a clean sheet is also the first one in which we fail to find the back of the net!

Healy was kept very quiet, Dempsey played with characteristic aggression but didn't make much impression really and could have done better with his headed chance in the opening exchanges. Kamara fluffed his lines after coming on and Bouazza was okay but arrived too late to make much of an impression.

However, the worst player on the pitch in white was Seol Ki-Hyeon which came as a huge surprise to me. Maybe it's just a lack of match fitness, but he was slow, lumbering and generally lacklusture. His one or two nice touches were totally overshadowed by the negatives and he should have been replaced by Bouazza far earlier.

All in all it was a performance of which the players can feel proud. They battled hard and we were only a whisker away from recording our first victory at the Bridge since 1979. Next year eh?

Fulham v Manchester City: An opinion

Here is my opinion of yesterday's match, plus my player rankings which can be viewed here. I would be very interested to hear your views - whether or not you agree with me! As usual, I'll post a round-up of how the media saw the match tomorrow morning.


"I don't know whether to be disappointed that we threw away two points or elated that we've gained a point when we were down."

That's how Lawrie Sanchez summed up the feelings of most fans after a pulsating, yet ultimately disappointing, match. To coin a cliché this was most definitely a game for the neutral as it had everything: goals, superb passing and even some handbags to keep everyone entertained.

For me, however, Hameur Bouazza was the outstanding man of the match. His attitude was fantastic: back defending one minute, supporting the midfield the next and then being a menace to the City backline. A superb all-round display. He was also the architect of the first goal. A move he started by tackling back in defence, then running the length of the pitch to supply a pinpoint cross for Simon Davies to head home. A sweet, flowing move that the visitors didn't even see coming. His first goal - and our second - was a belter. You will struggle to see a better taken free-kick this season. It was a rocket of a shot that bent to the left at the very last second to deceive the agile Kasper Schmeichel who was amusingly serenaded with: 'You're not as good as your dad'.

Seol Hi-Kyeon was also absolutely sensational. Any lingering disappointment I felt at seeing Rosenior depart was swept away when I saw what the big Korean can do. He's clearly a superb addition to the squad and his header to set up Murphy for our equaliser emphasised this point.

Overall, therefore, there were more positives than negatives to take from the game. Yes I know we let City back into the match but it could have been a lot, lot worse. To give him his due, Sanchez has got a knack of making the right substitutions at the right time to get results. I love the way - to coin yet another footballing cliché - that this team doesn't know when it's beaten.

The drive and commitment to haul themselves back into games is awe-inspiring and we could have easily grabbed all three points late on when Danny Murphy blazed over the bar. We are also a fantastic attacking force these days and goals can come from anywhere. Eight players - Healy, Dempsey, Smertin, Davies, Bouazza, McBride, Kamara and Murphy - have got themselves onto the score sheet this season. Putting three past a City side that have only conceded twice in the league all season is no mean feat and must not be underestimated.

Our defence, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. Where has the awesome Antti Niemi from last year gone? I appreciate he had injury problems at the start of the season but he still looks a shadow of his former self. His handling is unconvincing, his punching weak, he's allowing shots to squirm away from him, and perhaps most worrying of all, he doesn't seem to have the confidence of his back four. Considering the way that Niemi is playing at the moment I would prefer to see Tony Warner between the posts. He has more of a presence in the goal and is arguably a better shop-stopper (as his tremendous display at Arsenal proved) . Obviously his Achilles heel is his stupid errors, but Niemi has shown he is more than capable of making those himself.

However, our Finnish stopper shouldn't take all the blame. In my opinion there is one other major culprit in our defensive line-up: Chris Baird. Now, part of me feels bad singling out someone who has only played a handful of games but I can't see any reason why he should be in the team ahead of Moritz Volz. His insistence on standing off opposing players just doesn't work and was ruthlessly exploited by Martin Petrov yesterday who not only turned him inside out but made him look like a mediocre Championship player and not an international captain. I can understand his confidence is probably low at the moment - particularly having scored an own goal for Northern Ireland - but it's the team that are paying the price for his mistakes.

Sanchez said in his pre-match press conference on Friday that the squad needs to be isolated from error-prone players and Baird definitely falls into this category at the moment. A spell on the sidelines to get his head and game back together is needed. Volz must be brought in for the Carling Cup match on Wednesday, and if he delivers, should retain his place for next weekend's visit to Stamford Bridge.

Fulham v Spurs: Player rankings

My player rankings

Niemi – 3/10
Very poor handling, stubbornly refused to come off his goal line, bad punching and no command of his backline. Two good saves in the second half from Berbatov and Jenas showed what he can do, but a dreadful overall display. Bring back Warner...or Billy the Badger.

Baird – 5/10
Not a bad display but nothing to write home about. Feel that he would be far more comfortable in a centre back position with Volz taking over his position. Still has an annoying tendency to stand off players and he will get punished for this.

Stefanovic – 7/10
Good, solid display and, on this showing, a good signing by Sanchez. Clearly hasn’t got the pace to keep up with livewire strikers, as was proved by Berbatov sprinting clear of him to bag the second goal of the match, but still worthy of a place in the team.

Bocanegra – 5/10
Was caught napping a couple of times – particularly by Jenas on one occasion in the first half – and almost gifted Spurs a golden opportunity in the second by heading the ball up in the air on the edge of the area.

Konchesky – 8/10
Very good display from a player who is clearly growing in confidence. For me, he is one of the star signings of the season so far. Assured, confident and rarely put a foot wrong. Got back to delay Jenas enough to save us from further humiliation in the first half. Great player; great game.

Simon Davies – 6/10
A usual, spirited performance by Davies. His exciting, surging runs are a joy to watch and he is by far our best crosser of a ball. Arguably got ‘muscled out of it’ at times, but you couldn’t question his commitment.

Steven Davis – 7/10
Worked tirelessly in midfield against a very physical, aggressive Spurs side and looked absolutely shattered at the end of 90 minutes. A tough competitor, despite his fairly wiry frame, but should feel pleased with his performance.

Alexey Smertin – 6/10
Another good game from our Russian dynamo. Being as light as a balet dancer meant he was knocked off the ball quite easily at times, but he has proved – on two occasions so far this season – that it’s worth trying shots from range because you never know what could happen. Fat Frank does this to very good effect at Chelsea.

Hameur Bouazza – 6/10
I like this lad. He’s full of running and can take on players, although needs the confidence to try it more often. He faded later on in the match and was rightly replaced but has the skills to be a menace to defences.

Clint Dempsey – 7/10
A good performance. As well as thumping in a header against the run of play to get us back into it at the end of the first half, he also helped set up Smertin’s deflected goal. His physical presence was needed against man-mountains such as Huddlestone.

Dimansy Kamara – 7/10
What can you say about that finish? Absolutely top drawer. His skills, turn of speed and ball play were also outstanding. If he can get a partnership going with, perhaps, Healy then I think he’ll bag a hatful of goals this season.

Subs:

Healy 6/10. Difficult to rate as he didn’t have time to do much apart from play a few passes around. Can’t understand why he was left on the bench. Surely his is the first name that should be on the team sheet?

John 6/10. Again, not easy to judge as he wasn’t given long to perform, but didn’t do anything of real note.

My man of the match: Paul Konchesky

Fulham v Spurs: An opinion

Phew! Along with a clutch of new signings, it seems that Sanchez has also bought a handful of 'Get out of Jail Free' cards if yesterday is anything to go by. But while it was a fantastic, pulsating, thrilling end to a rollercoaster ride of match that left us all on a high, it's important not to let that colour our judgement of the overall performance.

For large parts of the game we were simply played off the park.

Our midfield and defence were ripped apart in the first half and, to be honest, we were fortunate not to concede more than two. The first 20 minutes had echoes of last year's nightmare cup final exit to the North Londoners last year and the Cottage resounded to boos. If Spurs hadn’t squandered a couple of golden opportunities we’d have been dead and buried.

Niemi - our third goalkeeper in five league games - was simply awful; particularly in the first half. Fumbling a cross and then dropping the subsequent corner at the foot of Kaboul who rattled in number one was the first sign that all was not quite right with the man at the back.

His litany of disasters included failing to command his defenders; sticking rigidly on his goal line when he should have been closing strikers down and smothering their shots, and punching the ball like a toddler. Quite frankly, it looked as if he would concede every time someone took a shot. Although he did redeem himself to a certain degree in the second half with a couple of fine saves, the damage had already been done.

In midfield we lost the physical battle, but then again it wasn’t one we were ever likely to win without the likes of Diop and Brown in the fight. In fact, it looked like a scene out of Gulliver’s Travels when the waif-like Smertin was going up against Kaboul, Huddlestone, etc, etc.

It was also bizarre to see David 'God' Healy sitting on the bench when the lad can't stop scoring for club or country. I agree we needed Dempsey on the park, for his physical presence if nothing else, but Healy should have been accommodated in the formation as well.

However, there was one overwhelming positive to be taken away from the Cottage yesterday: team spirit. For a group of players to fight back from twice being two goals behind to salvage a goal was simply fantastic. Not knowing when they were beaten and defying the odds was the trademark of the Wimbledon team in the 1980s that Sanchez was part of and he seems to have instilled that same sense of belief in this crop of players. Chucking on two extra strikers in the last part of the game was also an inspired move so hats off to Lawrie on that one.

No-one could argue that we were very fortunate to get anything from yesterday, but even Alan Hansen on Match of the Day said it was time things turned in our favour: “If you have watched the first four or five games of the season; if any side deserved a bit of luck it was Fulham.”

* I will be back on later with my player rankings and a round-up of how the media saw our match

Media reaction to Villa defeat

Here is a rundown of how the major newspapers saw our defeat at Villa Park.

Fulham have now led three times this season before conceding points to late goals, pointed out Chris Moore in the Mail on Sunday, and to add insult to injury they were denied a very probable penalty when Craig Gardner handled Diomansy Kamara's shot on the half-hour mark.

It was certainly a major talking point, agreed Ian Edwards in The People, who also noted that Lawrie Sanchez is now "so fed up with getting the wrong end of crucial decisions" that he is planning to raise the issue with referees' supremo Keith Hackett.

The London club had started well, said Anna Kessel of The Observer. "Fulham had looked convincing in attack, despite missing Brian McBride and Hameur Bouazza, and took an early lead with a Clint Dempsey goal," she reported. Kamara "slipped the Villa defence" with a ball to Dempsey who "seeing Scott Carson off his line", hammered home.

This was a dream start for the visitors, said Brian Power in the News of The World, as Dempsey's "cool sixth minute strike" had Fulham "dreaming of a first top flight win since Nancy Sinatra was No1. with These Boots Are Made For Walking in 1966".

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last.

Harry Pratt, writing in the Sunday Express, said Villa were "unquestionably" a different proposition after the break and "dominated the second 45 minutes".

The Independent on Sunday's James Corrigan saw Ashley Young's "piece of magic in the 51st minute" as a major turning point. "The winger stole in on the byline and somehow beat the angle to find the inside of Kasey Keller's far post," he reported.

Fulham then suffered a run of problems, which began when they were forced into a defensive substitution as (Zat) Knight limped out of the action (to be replaced by Ian Pearce), said Football365. "Then the visitors were reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining as (Chris) Baird picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Young just outside the box".

The home side then sank the dagger in late-on, said the Sunday Times, when substitute Shaun Maloney, "a bit part player since signing from Celtic last season" took centre stage "to win three valuable points for (Martin) O'Neill, with the winning goal in the 91st minute".