Fulham 1 Wigan 1
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Clint Dempsey
rescued Fulham |
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Clint Dempsey rescued Fulham with a 78th-minute equaliser after Wigan had threatened
to push them deeper into trouble at the foot of
the Barclays Premier League table.
Marcus Bent looked to have decided the outcome in Wigan's favour with a 69th-minute
volley but Dempsey earned managerless Fulham a vital point with a low drive.
The draw ensured that Wigan remained second from bottom but enabled Fulham to climb
out of the bottom three.
Fulham, who sacked boss Lawrie Sanchez yesterday, took the early initiative with
a header from defender Carlos Bocanegra cleared off the line by Denny Landzaat in
the sixth minute.
Three minutes later a superb low cross from Hameur Bouazza was almost turned home
by Dempsey as the home side continued to impress during the early skirmishes.
In the 11th minute, former Fulham player Michael Brown sent a shot high into the
crowd from the edge of the penalty area but it was a rare excursion into the home
defence.
Brown tried his luck again in the 20th minute but the midfielder's accuracy was
again found wanting and his effort flashed well wide of Antti Niemi's right-hand
upright.
But Wigan were beginning to improve and won their first corner in the 21st minute
and although the Fulham dealt with it, a low cross from Ryan Taylor caused panic
in the home defence seconds later.
But normal service was resumed by Fulham a minute later when Simon Davies brought a fine save from Chris Kirkland with a stinging right-foot drive.
In the 24th minute Diomansy Kamara almost gave Fulham the lead when he got to a
free-kick from Davies before Kirkland.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Wigan |
|
Goals |
1 |
1 |
|
Possession |
52% |
48% |
|
Goal attempts |
9 |
10 |
|
On Target |
3 |
4 |
|
Corners |
8 |
4 |
|
Off-sides |
2 |
8 |
|
Saves |
1 |
3 |
|
Fouls |
15 |
16 |
|
Yellows |
0 |
0 |
|
Reds |
0 |
0 |
|
source: Soccernet |
But the Fulham striker just failed to guide his effort inside the post to the relief
of the Wigan goalkeeper.
Fulham continued to dominate the game and Konchesky was unlucky not to put them
in front in the 27th minute.
The left-back was allowed to advance unchallenged from the half-way line and opted
to try his luck from fully 40 yards.
His swerving shot beat Kirkland in the Wigan goal but the woodwork saved the visitors
when Konchesky's effort rebounded off the crossbar.
Fulham's work rate was impressive but the cutting edge lacked the finish much of
their approach work deserved.
Ray Lewington's side were rarely troubled in defence but their encouraging display
was marred by the lack of an opening goal.
Wigan had little firepower in attack with Bent largely anonymous and they failed
to trouble Niemi in the the Fulham goal. Brown's two long-range efforts were all they had to show for their endeavours.
Fulham squandered the first chance of the second half when Dempsey burst clear of
the Wigan defence only to drill his right-foot shot wide of the target.
Wigan were content to stifle the life out of the game and as a result the home side
found it difficult to create any clear-cut openings after Dempsey's miss.
Latics defender Titus Bramble went close with a header in the 64th minute but it
was the
best effort either side could muster in a largely forgettable second half.
The visitors were beginning to enjoy a long spell of possession and even though
Fulham had introduced David Healy into the action, their was little to suggest they
had the capability to break the deadlock.
Indeed it was no surprise when Wigan scored the opening goal of the game in the
69th minute.
A corner on the left was only partially cleared by the Fulham rearguard and when
Brown sent the ball back into the penalty area, the defence panicked.
Bramble rose the highest to knock the ball down for the advancing Bent and the Wigan
striker sent his volley into the roof of the net as Niemi looked to close him down.
But Fulham equalised in the 78th minute when Wigan's defence failed to clear a Chris
Baird cross and when the ball rebounded to Dempsey, the American striker made no mistake from 12 yards.
Both sides worked hard to find a winner but had
to settle for a point apiece.
Fulham caretaker boss Ray Lewington:
"We were playing at home and when you do that you expect to come away with three
points, so it's probably a better result for them than us.
"We were energetic and full of effort, which was pleasing, and we dominated possession
and created the better chances, but then we could easily have lost the game as well.
"As for the future, my hat is in the ring to take the job on a permanent basis but
that means my doing well. We've got the players here to do better and we just need
to take it a game at a time."
Wigan manager Steve Bruce:
"We're disappointed not to win that to be honest. With 10 minutes to go and with
the way we were playing I thought we might snatch it.
"But in the last week, with a win against Blackburn and a point here, we've at least
given ourselves a chance and we've edged towards safety.
"I'm seeing a bit of confidence and self belief coming back into the side and, yes,
we know it will be tough (to survive), but we hope to keep improving and keep picking
up points."
Fulham: Niemi, Omozusi (Baird 60), Bocanegra, Hughes, Konchesky, Bouazza
(Kuqi 72), Davis (Healy 59), Murphy, Davies, Kamara, Dempsey.
Subs Not Used: Warner, Ki-Hyeon.
Goals: Dempsey 78.
Wigan: Kirkland, Boyce, Scharner, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Landzaat,
Taylor (Olembe 86), Aghahowa (Sibierski 63), Bent.
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Granqvist, Skoko.
Goals: Bent 70.
Att: 20,820
Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).