Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey insists three points rather than revenge was the motivating factor after Thursday night's 4-1 Europa League win over Wisla Krakow.
The Cottagers were beaten 1-0 by the Polish champions two weeks ago in a game marred by Mousa Dembele's controversial sending off. The incident occurred when an innocuous passage of play flared up in Poland, with Dembele pushing over Wisla's Gervasio Nunez after he caught him on the back of the ankle.
The Argentinian midfielder went down clutching his face despite being pushed at shoulder height and, while admitting it was nice to get revenge, Dempsey insists it was not the main motivation for the 4-1 win. "It was to get the points," the United States international said. "[Revenge] was a bonus, showing the team what kind of quality we do have."
He added: "I thought we did that and the most important thing is that we got the points to help us get out the group stage. It was a good game. We would have preferred not to have conceded and kept a clean sheet.
"It was good for some players to get some goals and some assists, which I think will help us going forward.
"At home we always try and take the game to our opponents. I think we play a good style of football. We had good movement in the midfield and up front, while our outside backs were overlapping so we had chances and our players stepped up for us."
The victory helped Dempsey and his Fulham team-mates edge closer to the Europa League knockout stages in what was a tempestuous encounter.
Andrew Johnson's brace was complemented by efforts from Damien Duff and Steve Sidwell, propelling Fulham four points clear of Group K rivals Odense BK and Wisla Krakow.
"We have played some good football this season," Fulham manager Martin Jol said. "The only problem is the nil-nils and the one-alls, with three draws at home.
"Even last week if we had won [against Everton] we would be in a nice position in the top 10. You could say we were very efficient because normally we create eight or nine chances and we score one goal and today we were different."
Source: PA
