Cottagers take points with lucky winner

15 August 2009 17:35
Sulaiman al-Fahim was caught up in traffic but arrived at Fratton Park just in time to witness Fulham's fortuitous winner and see for himself the work required at Portsmouth who began the season with a 1-0 defeat. Al-Fahim, who is fronting a potential takeover of Pompey, took his seat and saw Bobby Zamora break the deadlock with a fluke - before Roy Hodgson's men held on to start their Barclays Premier League campaign with maximum points. The goal summed up the uncertainty at Pompey. Clint Dempsey set his sights on goal from 25 yards, and his effort struck Zamora on the back before spinning past David James and creeping in. It could have got worse for Pompey when Danny Murphy's free-kick found Zamora at the far post, James tipping the header over the bar. Kranjcar had a good attempt on the hour, but his drive was too high - and he was also inches away from a Belhadj cross.

Source: Eurosport