Southampton 1 Fulham 1
Fulham's awful run of six Premiership defeats in a row ended at the St Mary's
Stadium yesterday but Southampton will not be dissatisfied with a sharing of points.
Yet to praise either side would be done only under torture.
It was a match that Southampton fans probably approached with mixed feelings.
A draw with Sunderland the previous weekend had all but guaranteed that the
club's investment in the new stadium would not be eroded by relegation, yet
during the week there came the news of Matthew Le Tissier's decision to retire.
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Fulham top goal scorer Barry Hayles misses chance to score
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In 16 years with them, he had scored 209 senior goals and made several attempts
to defy his injuries to extend his career, even though he knew that his personal
pride and club loyalty could cause him long-term disability.
Meanwhile, his successors still had to face yesterday's game looking for assured
Premiership security, which on the face of it should not have been too much
of a problem, since in spite of their progress in the FA Cup Fulham were suffering
their most unsuccessful League run since 1986. Southampton's concession of a
seventh-minute goal was entirely of their own making, because when Sylvan Legwinski
pushed the ball forward in the direction of Steve Marlet, goalkeeper Paul Jones
seemed to have it covered. Yet Marlet did make contact. The ball rebounded off
Jones and Marlet tapped in.
For 20 minutes, Fulham successfully defended their advantage, but when Andy
Melville carelessly tried to caress the ball back to Edwin van der Sar, Marian
Pahars interrupted, only to thrash the ball into the side-netting. Nevertheless,
Southampton had the scent of goal and a minute later Jason Dodd flighted a glorious
pass to Rory Delap, who had won the ball in the first place, and he cracked
in a powerful equaliser.
| Match Stats |
Soton |
Fulham |
| Goal attempts |
11 |
7 |
| On Target |
6 |
2 |
| Hit woodwork |
1 |
1 |
| Fouls |
12 |
17 |
| Offsides |
5 |
3 |
| Corners |
6 |
7 |
| Yellows |
1 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source:
www.sports.com |
Fulham, not known to welcome a scrap, were now drawn into one. Barry Hayles ought
to have restored their lead but let Jones dive at his feet to divert him. He had
already wasted an equally good opportunity when, surprisingly, Wayne Bridge had
lost concentration and possession. That sort of mistake had generally been the
preserve of Fulham's fragile defence. And uncertainty and underachievement became
the themes of much of the rest of the game.
Fulham's considered, accurate passing so much admired earlier in the season
had turned to hurried, frustrated fumbling. Even John Collins, whose touch and
eye for the unusual angles can alter the outcome of tight occasions, was remote
and largely ineffective. No wonder Southampton's manager, Gordon Strachan, spent
so long on the touchline roaring his team to greater effort.
It was a match waiting to be won by further sweat or moment of ingenuity. The
moment should have come in the 79th minute when substitute Joe Tessem slipped
the ball through the Fulham penalty area and another sub, Kevin Davies, crashed
the ball against the post. Brett Ormerod struck the rebound ineffectively to
symbolise the day. The conclusion of Strachan that "Fulham were the better
team – simple as that'' was over-generous. Fulham were marginally the less
shambolic.
Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Lundekvam, Williams, Bridge, Delap, Oakley,
Telfer, Svensson (Tessem 73), Pahars (Davies 74), Ormerod.
Subs not used: Moss, Fernandes, Monk.
Booked: Delap.
Goals: Delap 22.
Fulham: Van der Sar, Finnan, Goma, Melville, Brevett, Collins (Harley
84), Davis (Saha 71), Legwinski, Malbranque, Hayles (Boa Morte 72), Marlet.
Subs not used: Taylor, Knight.
Booked: Brevett(44, UB)
Goals: Marlet 7.
Att: 31,616 Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).
Source S. Independent by Norman Fox