Full-back Rufus Brevett was Fulham's saviour
last night at Rochdale with a last-gasp equaliser in extra time as the expensively
assembled Londoners struggled to beat third division Rochdale.
Luis Boa Morte then steered Fulham into the third round of the Worthington
Cup on Tuesday after a penalty shoot-out at Spotland.
The Portuguese striker scored with the decisive spot-kick after Rochdale
threatened to cause an upset. Boa Morte had opened the scoring only for
Kevin Townson to score twice for the Third Division leaders.
Fulham dominated the first half only to drift into the comfort zone and
lose their shape.
They came within inches of opening the scoring in the seventh minute. Barry
Hayles picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and thumped in a shot
that beat keeper Matthew Gilks.
However, much to Rochdale's relief, the ball came back off the bar and was
eventually cleared.
Boa Morte saw his header scrambled away after Steed Malbranque's inswinging
corner.
Rochdale hit back and Gareth Griffiths powered a header goalwards in the
15th minute only for Jon Harley to block his effort.
Fulham retaliated immediately and opened the scoring a minute later.
Lee Clark strode forward and his shot was palmed away by keeper Gilks but
only as far as Boa Morte, who made no mistake from close range.
Malbranque then played a ball over the top in the hope of releasing Boa
Morte. Gilks, however, raced out of his goal to avert the danger.
Boa Morte should have added a second in the 31st minute but he only found
the side netting after Wayne Evans failed to cut out a routine cross from
Steve Finnan.
Rochdale refused to panic and kept trying to play it neat and tidy but they
found it difficult to break Fulham down. Boa Morte then threaded the ball
through to Sean Davis but his weak 20-yard shot didn't trouble Gilks.
Malbranque, such an industrious player, picked up a pass from Davis but
hit his shot over the top. Davis, however, was at fault with the goal that
brought Rochdale level in the 73rd minute.
He lost concentration and then possession, allowing Townson to advance on
goal.
The young striker, only on the park five minutes, showed a cool head to
rifle a shot from the edge of the area beyond keeper Maik Taylor.
Townson then saw a volley whistle past the post as Rochdale went for the
winner.
But play quickly switched down the other end with defender Sean McAuley
throwing himself in front of Boa Morte's effort.
Rochdale were forced on the back foot as the game went into extra time with
both Malbranque and Hayles coming close to regaining the lead for the Premiership
side.
However, Fulham were rocked 12 minutes into the first period when Townson
dramatically put Rochdale ahead.
Clive Platt's shot came back off the post after a fine build up and Townson
was on hand to rattle in the rebound.
However, with Fulham facing an early exit, Rufus Brevett scored deep in
stoppage time in extra time to increase the drama with a shot across the
face of the goal and the match went to penalties.
Lee Clark, Sylvain Legwinski and Steve Finnan all scored from the spot to
keep Fulham and Rochdale level on 3-3. As the tension mounted, both sides
then missed their next two spot kicks with Sean Davis and Barry Hayles the
culprits for Fulham
Fulham continued to match Rochdale goal for goal with successful spot kicks
from Andy Melville and Rufus Brevett to make the score 5-5. Rochdale then
failed to capitalise on the chance to put Fulham under pressure as they
failed to score with their eighth effort. With the chance to win the match,
Maik Taylor stepped up, only to see his shot saved.
With Rochdale missing the seventeenth penalty on the night, Luis Boa Morte
finally ended the encounter as he slotted past Gilks to the delight of the
travelling Fulham fans
Rochdale manager Steve Parkin shrugged off the disappointment of going out
of the Worthington Cup to salute his players.
Teams
Rochdale (0) 2 Fulham (1) 2 After Extra Time. AT 90 mins 1-1
Rochdale: Gilkes, Evans, Bayliss, Griffiths, McAuley, Ford (Flitcroft
68), Oliver, Jones, Durkan (Doughty 49), Connor (Townson 69), Platt.
Subs
Not Used: Baker, Todd.
Booked: Bayliss.
Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Knight (Melville 93), Ouaddou, Harley (Brevett
69), Goldbaek (Legwinski 105), Clark, Davis, Malbranque, Hayles, Boa Morte.
Subs Not Used: Hahnemann, Betsy.
Booked: Finnan, Hayles.
Att: 6,303 Ref: R Pearson (Peterlee). |