Nick Wright at London24
|
Charlton (1) 1-1 (1) Fulham
Fulham eased their relegation worries with a 1-1 draw against Charlton which puts them eight points clear of the drop zone.
Ross McCormack headed the Cottagers in front after just eight minutes at The Valley, but Johann Gudmundsson levelled the scores just nine minutes later with an emphatic finish from close range despite suggestions of offside.
Fulham had the better chances to win in the second half, but they will be buoyed by a point which puts them well clear of Millwall, who currently occupy 22nd place.
Charlton, meanwhile, missed an opportunity to go level on points with 10th-placed Blackburn Rovers.
McCormack's 14th goal of the season arrived after Charlton were undone by a routine long ball down the middle. The unchallenged Matt Smith nodded it on to his former Leeds team-mate, who looped his header over the advancing Stephen Henderson and into the net.
Charlton were under the cosh and McCormack almost made it two when he sprang the home side's offside trap and sent a deflected effort into the side netting. The Addicks' defence was a mess, but Tal Ben Haim did well to get back and block the shot.
Fulham right-back Tim Hoogland was next to go close after more ponderous Charlton defending, but Henderson kept out his close-range effort after the hosts had failed to clear their lines.
The Cottagers were good value for their lead, but it didn't last long. Frederic Bulot appeared to be in an offside position when he failed to connect with Morgan Fox's inviting cross, but the linesman didn't flag and Gudmundsson was on hand to finish at the far post.
It was the Icelander's 10th goal of an impressive debut campaign in English football, but he was guilty of a woeful miss from almost exactly the same position 10 minutes later after good work from Tony Watt and Igor Vetokele.
Both sides had further chances to take the lead before the break, including a shot wide from Fulham's Smith after a suicidal pass across goal from veteran Addicks defender Roger Johnson.
The Cottagers were immediately on the front foot in the second half, with Joe Gomez forced to clear a scuffed effort off the line after McCormack had turned Ryan Tunnicliffe's cut-back into the danger zone.
Watt was at the heart of Charlton's forward play, and the former Celtic man sent one diagonal effort narrowly wide after a powerful run on the left-hand side in the 63rd minute.
McCormack then drew a diving save from Henderson with a curling shot from 20 yards at the other end.
Fulham looked more likely to steal the three points, and they should have had a winning goal when Smith smashed a wild shot wastefully over form inside the box in the final minute of normal time.
There was still time for McCormack to send a free kick wide, but in the end the draw was probably a fair result.
Source .