Fulham (0) 3 West Brom (0) 0
Fulham smashed three goals in four minutes during the second half at a euphoric Loftus Road tonight to climb a dozen points clear of the drop zone and heighten West Brom's relegation fears.
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| Fulham striker Louis Saha opened the scoring against West Brom with a well judged diving header |
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Louis Saha nodded home in the 71st minute to put the Cottagers 1-0 up - and Pierre Wome thundered in an unbelievable strike from 30 yards to double their lead.
Fulham fans' delight turned to ecstasy when the prolific Steed Malbranque netted from the penalty spot with 13 minutes to go for his eighth goal in six games.
The Baggies villains were Phil Gilchrist, who allowed Saha to escape for his goal, Neil Clement for shoving the same player to give Malbranque his spot-kick - and then there was Lee Hughes.
The striker was clean-through twice with the scores at 0-0, but first shot straight at Maik Taylor and then tumbled in false hope of a penalty on the second occasion.
He looked low on confidence and has yet to score a Barclaycard Premiership goal this season.
In contrast, this result will send self-belief soaring in the Cottagers camp, with these three points taking them a massive stride closer to securing a third straight season in the top flight.
Early on, Megson's men were the first to threaten, with Hughes racing onto Danny Dichio's flick, outpacing Alain Goma and stinging Taylor's palms with a 16-yard volley.
Junichi Inamoto and Derek McInnes exchanged strikes on goal as the players attempted to warm up the crowd on a bitterly-cold night in west London.
In the 19th minute, Jason Koumas produced a dazzling forward burst which took him past Inamoto, Malbranque and Andy Melville, but his shot bounced across the face of goal.
Malbranque responded with a trademark surge of his own at the other end which almost produced the opener.
The Frenchman raced in from the left flank, cut the ball back to Saha - who fell on his behind as he attempted to shoot - and Steve Marlet rifled goalwards, only to see the ball rebound off Darren Moore's legs. Inamoto sliced the follow-up attempt.
Malbranque fired over the top at the end of another dangerous forward raid.
This had been very open first half, without either keeper really being extended.
That was the case again when home midfielder Martin Djetou connected sweetly from 30 yards, but Baggies keeper Russell Hoult got right behind his strike.
But both sides had golden chances to take the lead just before half-time.
First, Hoult misjudged a bouncing ball and Marlet headed square for Facundo Sava. He hooked the ball goalwards, but Gilchrist slid across his goalline to clear from under the crossbar.
And barely 60 seconds later, Koumas burst clear down the right and played Hughes clean through on goal.
But the forward dallied when one-on-one with Taylor and the Northern Ireland shot-stopper blocked.
Hughes showed a lack of confidence in front of goal again six minutes after the interval.
He raced onto Neil Clement's through-ball and beat the offside trap - but threw himself the ground in the penalty area after the slightest contact with Abdeslam Ouaddou.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
WBA |
| Goal attempts |
12 |
9 |
| On Target |
8 |
4 |
| Woodwork |
0 |
0 |
| Offsides |
4 |
5 |
| Corners |
2 |
3 |
| Fouls |
13 |
18 |
| Yellows |
1 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: www.sportinglife.com |
Referee Uriah Rennie waved away optimistic penalty appeals.
Fulham went close again when Malbranque smashed a beautiful half-volley goalwards from 15 yards - but straight down Hoult's throat.
The home side were in charge now and Marlet sent a header past the far post as Jean Tigana's team pushed for the opening goal.
And Fulham finally got the goal they craved on 71 minutes.
Gilchrist allowed Saha to escape unmarked six yards out - and he raced onto Malbranque's chipped cross from the left and nodded home.
The Cottagers grabbed a sensational second just two minutes later with an absolute piledriver from Wome.
Sean Gregan fouled Marlet 30 yards out and from the resulting free-kick, Malbranque rolled the ball to the Cameroon international - who almost ripped the net with a blistering strike into the top right corner.
Fulham's goal-starved fans were stunned by seeing two goals in quick succession - and that turned to disbelief when they scored again after 75 minutes, their third goal in just four minutes.
Saha leapt to meet a left-wing cross at the far post and tumbled when bumped by Clement.
Ref Rennie pointed to the spot and Malbranque sent Hoult the wrong way to complete a goal-crazy four minutes and a miserable night for West Brom.
Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Goma (Ouaddou 45), Melville, Wome, Marlet, Djetou, Inamoto, Malbranque (Stolcers 89), Sava, Saha.
Subs Not Used: Goldbaek, Herrera, Leacock.
Booked: Djetou(56,UB)
Goals: Saha 72, Wome 74, Malbranque 77 pen.
West Brom: Hoult, Adam Chambers, Gregan, Moore, Gilchrist, Clement (Udeze 90), Wallwork, McInnes, Koumas, Dichio (Jordao 80), Hughes (Dobie 71).
Subs Not Used: Sigurdsson, Murphy.
Booked: Adam Chambers, Gregan.
Att: 15,799
Ref: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).