|
|
SunSport |
Fulham (2) 5 Wolverhampton (0) 0
PAVEL POGREBNYAK was Fulham's hat-trick hero as the Cottagers crushed Terry Connor's Wolves.
The deadline day signing bagged in his first two Premier League games and he was on the scoresheet again as he headed home Damien Duff's corner after 35 minutes.
The big Russian then rifled home Andy Johnson's pull back for his second on the stroke of half-time.
Fulham's top scorer Clint Dempsey rounded Wayne Hennessey for the hosts' third before Pogrebnyak completed a perfect hat-trick just after the hour with his left foot.
And then Dempsey grabbed his own brace in the 83rd minute to finish off the rout.
The result was a reality check for Wolves boss Connor after his side's impressive fight back at Newcastle last week and they slip below Blackburn into the relegation zone.
Fulham fans however will have left Craven Cottage thinking 'Zamora who?' after another unstoppable display from their new goalscoring star.
The home side were on top from the very start with Hennessey getting a vital touch on a long-range John Arne Riise strike.
The Wolves keeper then managed to block a close-range Andrew Johnson effort but there was a bit of fortune in Fulham's opening goal.
Referee Mike Jones judged Mousa Dembele's shot to have brushed off a Wolves player and awarded a corner.
It was a questionable but vital call as Pogrebnyak headed in Duff's resulting set-piece from six yards.
The 28-year-old then doubled the lead when he fired home a confident first-time strike after Johnson had squared to him from the right.
If it had been a one-sided first half, the second 45 would prove just as tough for Wolves.
Fulham's third came after 55 minutes when a Murphy pass, which looked intended for Johnson, found a way between the Wolves centre-backs and Dempsey burst through, took the ball wide of Hennessey and fired in.
Pogrebnyak scored his third when Johnson cut in from the left and fired in a right-foot shot which Hennessey parried and the Russian turned home.
Fulham were not finished there.
A loose pass from Doyle in attack allowed the hosts to break again and the move ended with Johnson's curling shot from the edge of the box clipping the top of the bar.
Martin Jol's men continued to press - determined to punish Wolves further still.
And after Dembele forced another save out of Hennessey, Fulham duly got their fifth after a fine team move.
Pogrebnyak passed to debutant and substitute Mahamadou Diarra who fed a perfectly-weighted through ball into Demspey and the American lashed a left-footed effort into the top corner for his 12th of the campaign.
It was a fitting way to end a superb Fulham display as they climbed up to eighth in the league.
STAR MAN - PAVEL POGREBNYAK (Fulham)
FULHAM: Schwarzer 5, Hughes 5, Senderos 6, Hangeland 6, Riise 8, Duff 7 (Davies 5), Murphy 7 (Diarra 5), Dembele 8, Dempsey 8, Johnson 8, Pogrebnyak 9 (Frei 5). Subs not used: Stockdale, Orlando Sa, Etuhu, Halliche. Booked: Hangeland.
WOLVES: Hennessey 5, Zubar 4, Stearman 5, Berra 3, Ward 5, Kightly 4 (Fletcher 4), Foley 4 (Hunt 4), Henry 4 (Milijas 5), O'Hara 6, Jarvis 5, Doyle 4. Subs not used: De Vries, Johnson, Bassong, Jonsson. Booked: Zubar, Berra.
REF: M Jones 6
Source .