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BBC Sport |
Sheff Wed (0) 1-1 (0) Fulham
Fulham striker Matt Smith rescued a point for struggling Fulham against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Owls winger Chris Maguire tested keeper Marcus Bettinelli, while substitute Stevie May wasted a clear first-half chance before heading home the opener from a Lewis McGugan cross.
Smith levelled with a flicked finish off the underside of the bar.
Home keeper Keiren Westwood then denied Smith, while Ross McCormack went close to securing maximum points for Fulham.
While the point lifts Fulham to 20th in the table, they slip to within six points of the relegation places after Wigan Athletic beat fellow strugglers Rotherham United.
The home side should have taken the lead in the first of six minutes of first-half stoppage time - added on following injuries which forced off Owls' pair Liam Palmer and Will Keane - with Jeremy Helan's cross from the left nodded down by striker Atdhe Nuhiu to unmarked substitute May, who sliced his effort into the arms of Bettinelli.
May eventually found the target after McGugan's corner was returned to the on-loan Watford midfielder, whose cross was flicked into the left corner by May's head.
Nuhiu then went close from close range and Marnick Vermijl, a first-half replacement for Palmer, tested Bettinelli.
Fulham's Tim Hoogland had a half-volley blocked before Smith, in his third game back at Fulham following a loan spell at Bristol City, then finished substitute Cauley Woodrow's centre to level.
Westwood denied Smith a second after the striker ran onto a Scott Parker pass, with Kostas Stafylidis lifting the rebound over.
As both sides searched for a winner, McCormack sent a free-kick narrowly onto the roof of the net and and Nuhiu struck the top of the bar at the other end, although he was flagged for offside.
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Stuart Gray: "I'm disappointed that the referee didn't give a free-kick for simulation (in the build-up to Fulham's equaliser) but at the end of the day you've got to play until you hear the whistle go.
"The game wasn't one for the purists. The most important thing is probably getting to the 50-point mark, that's probably the only positive to have come out of the game. It was a poor game.
"The game wasn't conducive for football. It became an open game, we attacked, they attacked, but the pitch didn't allow for any real quality in the game."
Fulham manager Kit Symons: "I was appealing for it (a penalty) as you would imagine but, listen, either way I was just pleased to have got the goal in the end.
"They were appealing for offside against Matt (Smith) but I spoke to some of their guys afterwards and they were quite happy that he was onside in the end.
"We knew about the state of the pitch coming into it. I spoke to Stuart about it before the game and I said to our players it's not an excuse."
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