Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque scored a priceless goal to all but ensure Fulham's Premiership
status to give them a surprise 1-0 victory over Champions League outsiders Leeds.
Both teams had much to play for with Leeds still harbouring hopes of a Champions
League spot and Fulham still one victory shy of Premiership safety.
Perhaps with so much at stake for both clubs the early period of the match
was a cagey affair with little to get excited about for the Elland Road audience.
Leeds did have the ball in the net with the first real chance of the match
with almost a quarter of the action played. Robbie Keane flicked a heeled pass
to Ian Harte who fired a driver cross to the near post where Alan Smith was
judged to have impeded Edwin van Der Sar before the ball broke to Robbie Fowler
to tap into the empty net.
The home team appeared to have been aggrieved by that decision though, and
stepped up the pace to put Fulham under pressure. And Keane should have opened
the scoring four minutes later when Harte¿s cross picked him out at the
back post but the young Ireland striker almost returned his volley to the supplier.
As the pace stepped up, so did the passion and Alan Smith clashed with Rufus
Brevett, befoere the Fulham defender collided with Mills.
It was turning into a frustrating afternoon for Keane though and he missed
another great chance after Fowler helped on Rio Ferdinand¿s clearance
to put his strike parner through, but he shot wide of the post after drawing
van Der Sar from his line.
The Fulham keeper then fumbled a Danny Mills cross before clawing the ball
away from two onrushing white shirts, but redeemed himself with a save from
a Fowler header seconds later.
Although Leeds were dominating, it was not all one way traffic. Louis Saha turned
Ferdinand and left him trailing before playing a wall-pass with Malbranque,
only to shoot straight at Nigel Martyn.
The visitors did find the net with their second chance of the afternoon, seven
minutes after the break.
Saha attempted to thread a pass behind the Leeds defence and the ball broke
to Malbranque whose shot zipped off the turf and flew into the far corner of
the net under the diving Martyn.
| Match Stats |
Leeds |
Fulham |
| Goal attempts |
9 |
7 |
| On Target |
4 |
4 |
| Hit woodwork |
0 |
0 |
| Fouls |
12 |
16 |
| Offsides |
4 |
1 |
| Corners |
1 |
4 |
| Yellows |
2 |
3 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: www.sports.com |
Van Der Sar dived bravely to foil Keane four minutes later after Fowler created
an opening with a superb pass.
Fowler was then an inch short of turning a Smith volley into the net as his
came slding in at the back post with the net gaping.
The feeling around Elland Road was that Leeds could play all night and not find
the net. Fulham were looking dangerous on the counter-attack, but they were
really lacking the cutting edge that has been a feature of so many of their
matches this term.
The home fans were streaming out of the stadium long before the end, resigned
to the fact that UEFA Cup football will be returning to Elland Road next season
with Newcastle all but assured of that last Champions League spot.
In the end Jean Tigana's men done enough to get the points and the Premiership
will be a better place for their survival. If they can find a natural striker
they will not be fighting relegation next time around.
Man-Of-The-Match: Edwin van Der Sar (Fulham)
Made vital saves throughout the match, and even when he did fumble one cross
atoned for the error immediately, and followed that up with a crucial stop moments
later.
Leeds:
Martyn, Mills, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Smith, Bakke, Batty, Bowyer, Fowler,
Keane.
Subs Not Used: Robinson, Kelly, Wilcox, Johnson, Richardson.
Booked: Bowyer, Matteo.
Fulham:
Van der Sar, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Brevett, Davis (Ouaddou 87), Malbranque,
Boa Morte (Goldbaek 9), Legwinski, Saha (Hayles 77), Marlet.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Knight.
Booked: Goma(F,3), Van der Sar(D, 45), Legwinski(F, 83).
Att: 39,111
Ref: R Styles (Waterlooville).