Middlesbrough (1) 2 Fulham (0) 1
Middlesbrough, regarded by many as a good bet for relegation, climbed to 11th
in the Premiership last night thanks to a late winner by their Slovakian striker
Szilard Nemeth.
Love is in the air: Benito Carbone and Alen Boksic celebrate the blossoming of
a relationship that could keep Middlesbrough in the Premiership
Alen Boksic had set them on their way to a valuable victory which was threatened
briefly when Steve Marlet equalised for a disappointing Fulham.
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Fulham keeper Edwin van der Sar
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Boksic, rumoured to be at loggerheads with manager Steve McClaren because of
his frequent absenteeism, had not started a match for nearly two months because
of a calf injury and influenza but his return promised more exciting times at
the Riverside as he forged a new striking partnership with Benito Carbone.
Providing the rest of the Boro squad work overtime to compensate for the luxury
of two flamboyant attackers, it promises to be a spearhead which can ensure
a Premiership future for the Riverside.
Carbone, offloaded by new Derby County manager John Gregory, should relish
playing alongside the brilliant Croatian and he gave a hint of what lies ahead
by providing the defence-splitting pass from which Boksic made the 27th-minute
breakthrough.
Fulham's defence looked in vain for an offside flag as Boksic ran on to a clever
reverse pass from the enigmatic Italian. Once given the all-clear - Rufus Brevett
may have played him on - Boksic looked odds-on to score and he delayed his shot
long enough for Edwin van der Sar to commit himself before effortlessly flicking
the ball over the prostrate Dutch goalkeeper.
Carbone, whose corner had almost set up an earlier opener for left-back Franck
Quedrue, should have given Boro a more commanding interval advantage after being
located unmarked on the edge of the penalty area by Jonathan Greening's thoughtful
pass. The situation was crying out for a left-footed finish but Carbone switched
on to his right and shot wildly over.
That reprieve for Fulham came seconds before first-half stoppage time and Jean
Tigana's men should have capitalised by equalising from their first real opening
before the 45 minutes were up.
| Match
Stats |
Boro |
Fulham |
| Goal
attempts |
11 |
10 |
| On
Target |
5 |
5 |
| Hit
woodwork |
1 |
0 |
| Fouls |
13 |
14 |
| Offsides |
6 |
3 |
| Corners |
7 |
10 |
| Yellows |
1 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source:
www.sports.com |
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Steve Marlet, given a similarly generous offside ruling to the one Boksic had
enjoyed, was clean through and rounded goalkeeper Mark Crossley before failing
to hit the target from an awkward angle. Marlet made no mistake when the opportunity
to notch only his third goal since his £11.5 million club-record signing
from Lyons presented itself at the height of a second-half resurgence by the
Londoners.
It was an equaliser made in France, Steed Malbranque's corner being cleverly
flicked on at the near post for Marlet to head home unchallenged at the far
post.
Marlet almost scored again soon afterwards when skilfully creating his own
shooting position just outside the penalty area. It needed a world-class save
from Mark Schwarzer to prevent Boro from falling behind.
Van der Sar could not match it 12 minutes from the end when Nemeth burst through
nine minutes after appearing as an unpopular replacement for Carbone. The low
shot from outside the area had an embarrassed goalkeeper checking where his
near post was.
Van der Sar had been beaten moments earlier when an Ugo Ehiogu header from
Greening's corner crashed against the crossbar as Boro showed the greater desire
to take all three points.
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Stockdale, Southgate, Ehiogu, Queudrue, Greening,
Mustoe (Murphy 61), Ince, Carbone (Windass 70), Whelan (Nemeth 70), Boksic.
Subs Not Used: Crossley, Gavin.
Booked: Queudrue.
Goals: Boksic 27, Nemeth 77.
Fulham: Van der Sar, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Brevett, Legwinski, Davis,
Malbranque, Collins (Saha 80), Marlet, Hayles.
Subs Not Used: Harley, Taylor, Ouaddou, Willock.
Booked: Legwinski(53, foul), Saha(87, foul).
Goals: Marlet 56.
Att: 26,235 Ref: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire)