Fulham 3 (2) - 1 (0) Newcastle
A thoroughly deserved Fulham victory and a scoreline to flatter a Newcastle
side which came to London with an outside chance of sharing the lead at
the top of the Premiership table - had they won.
But this did not seem to be the same Newcastle side with a win over Manchester
United to their name and which thrashed Aston Villa last time. They can
be as bad as they can be good so far this season and have failed to win
their last 27 games in the capital.
Newcastle were the better team for the opening 20 minutes and could have
led when Craig Bellamy's considerable skills took him past Andy Melville
to create a great chance only for Edwin van der Sar to recover from a
slip and save an unconvincing low shot.
Seconds later Fulham were ahead and suddenly Newcastle looked harmless.
A second Fulham goal followed soon after and Newcastle were off the pace.
Louis Saha, rejected by Newcastle two years ago after a six-month injury-plagued
stay, scored Fulham's opener to indicate that he could yet make a significant
impact at this level. Having exchanged passes with fellow Frenchman Sylvain
Legwinski on the edge of the area he curled an unstoppable ball over goalkeeper
Shay Given.
With Newcastle offering little resistance, Legwinski scored the second
in the 28th minute with a low drive after Saha and Steed Malbranque had
combined to set him up.
Given, a hero for the Republic of Ireland in Tehran last Thursday, then
made a series of good saves to stop Fulham running away with it. Perhaps
it would be a bit unfair to say Newcastle folded when they were up against
it, but that's what it looked like
They were not much better after half-time and Fulham missed further good
chances to put the game to bed. Saha was a constant threat and only Given
kept Newcastle alive. Having failed to finish the job when the going was
good, Fulham handed Newcastle further hope when they relaxed at the back
and conceded a 65th-minute goal. Aaron Hughes whipped in a cracking cross
from the right and Gary Speed headed in unchallenged from six yards out.
Newcastle soon blew cold again, though, and were two goals behind just
five minutes later when they failed to deal with a Malbranque corner and
Barry Hayles headed in Fulham's third at the far post.
Alan Shearer betrayed the frustration of his team when, for dissent,
he became their sixth player booked. Shearer had a chance to smile when
he took a 78th-minute penalty, inexplicably awarded by referee Eddie Wolstenholme
for Alain Gomas' challenge on Robert, but Van Der Sar tipped the shot
onto a post. Shearer was then bundled over by Goma as he tried to finish
on the rebound. That should have been a penalty, but somehow justice was
done as Fulham ran out worthy winners.
Fulham:
Van der Sar, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Brevett, Davis, Malbranque (Goldbaek
88), Legwinski, Collins (Clark 67), Hayles, Saha.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Ouaddou, Stolcers.
Scorers:
Saha 19, Legwinski 28, Hayles 70
Newcastle:
Given, Hughes, Dabizas (Distin 75), O'Brien, Elliott, Solano (Lua-Lua 77),
Lee (Ameobi 90), Speed, Robert,
Shearer, Bellamy.
Subs Not Used: Acuna, Harper.
Booked: Elliott, Dabizas, Robert, O'Brien, Lee, Shearer.
Scorers:
Speed 64
Att: 21,159 Ref: E Wolstenholme (Blackburn).
| Game Stats |
Fulham |
Newcastle |
| Free-kicks |
10
|
18
|
| Corners |
3
|
3
|
| Goal attempts |
8
|
7
|
| On target |
8
|
1
|
| Hit woodwork |
0
|
0
|
| Offsides |
0
|
2
|
| Yellows |
0
|
6
|
|