‘Cottage Stalemate does neither side any favours’
Fulham 1 – 1 Blackburn – 21st April 2007
West London played host to an entertaining draw as Blackburn and Fulham drew one each at a sun laden Craven Cottage. The point a piece however did little to satisfy both managers as they pushed for positions at opposite ends of the table.
Fulham took the lead in the first half through a header from Vincenzo Montella, this in a bright start which saw them on top. In the second period Blackburn were the ascendant side and equalized through Benny McCarthy and despite chances for Roberts and Bentley, the Lancashire side were thwarted by the home sides resilience.
The draw gave Fulham their first points under caretaker Lawrie Sanchez who has been instilled to help the black and white’s escape the drop. The magic touch of a new manager at the helm has been yet to completely affect the relegation battling side and they had their goalkeeper to thank in large part for ensuring they left with any points at all.
Buoyed by an excellent crowd, the Cottagers got off to a great start, playing some good football through Radzinski and Davies. They deservedly took the lead after ten minutes when Italian striker Vincenzo Montella flicked at a header from his own player Bouba Diop, fooling Friedel in the process.
Sitting back on what they held, Fulham limited Blackburn to long range efforts and held them well in wide areas. Bentley came close with a curling free kick from the left and Pedersen tested Niemi with a carbon copy from the right, but the best chance came when the Norwegian players ball was not dealt with by Liam Rosenior who had a full stretch Antti Niemi to thank for preventing an embarrassing own goal.
Blackburn continued to press and should have equalized through Jason Roberts; breaking the offside trap he was able to beat Niemi with a clever dink but Zat Knight stood firm and cleared the ball to safety. On the counter however Fulham nearly made it two with an excellent effort from Michael Brown.
The midfielder helped on another Diop effort but an acrobatic save from the American keeper was able to prevent the deficit from doubling.
In the second half Blackburn came out with purpose and looked to level up the game as soon as possible in a bit to help their UEFA Cup prospects. First McCarthy hit the bar with a superb volley before Pederson on the rebound was kept out by Niemi.
Samba also had a chance for the away side but the midfielder spurned his opportunity before blasting over from eight yards. His side however did find the target eventually when Warnock broke down the left, beat Rosenior to the ball and swung in a left footed cross which was met by McCarthy who made no mistake from close range.
The South African forward, who had been a constant threat to the Fulham defense, found the net a second time but was denied by an offside flag. He was also furious when he did not receive the ball from Roberts when his strike partner blazed over instead of squaring the ball.
Late on Brown squandered a breakaway chance for the home side and Knight headed narrowly wide in injury time leaving both sides to settle for a point.
The draw gave Fulham their first points under caretaker Lawrie Sanchez who has been instilled to help the black and white’s escape the drop. The magic touch of a new manager at the helm has been yet to completely affect the relegation battling side and they had their goalkeeper to thank in large part for ensuring they left with any points at all.
Buoyed by an excellent crowd, the Cottagers got off to a great start, playing some good football through Radzinski and Davies. They deservedly took the lead after ten minutes when Italian striker Vincenzo Montella flicked at a header from his own player Bouba Diop, fooling Friedel in the process.
Sitting back on what they held, Fulham limited Blackburn to long range efforts and held them well in wide areas. Bentley came close with a curling free kick from the left and Pedersen tested Niemi with a carbon copy from the right, but the best chance came when the Norwegian players ball was not dealt with by Liam Rosenior who had a full stretch Antti Niemi to thank for preventing an embarrassing own goal.
Blackburn continued to press and should have equalized through Jason Roberts; breaking the offside trap he was able to beat Niemi with a clever dink but Zat Knight stood firm and cleared the ball to safety. On the counter however Fulham nearly made it two with an excellent effort from Michael Brown.
The midfielder helped on another Diop effort but an acrobatic save from the American keeper was able to prevent the deficit from doubling.
In the second half Blackburn came out with purpose and looked to level up the game as soon as possible in a bit to help their UEFA Cup prospects. First McCarthy hit the bar with a superb volley before Pederson on the rebound was kept out by Niemi.
Samba also had a chance for the away side but the midfielder spurned his opportunity before blasting over from eight yards. His side however did find the target eventually when Warnock broke down the left, beat Rosenior to the ball and swung in a left footed cross which was met by McCarthy who made no mistake from close range.
The South African forward, who had been a constant threat to the Fulham defense, found the net a second time but was denied by an offside flag. He was also furious when he did not receive the ball from Roberts when his strike partner blazed over instead of squaring the ball.
Late on Brown squandered a breakaway chance for the home side and Knight headed narrowly wide in injury time leaving both sides to settle for a point.