Source: Telegraph
FC Basle 2 Fulham 3: match report
Bobby Zamora led Fulham to a memorable European victory and a place in the final 32 of the Europa League with two goals late in the first half in the snow of Basle. [LNB]Basle needed only a draw to qualify while Fulham required three points and they achieved that thanks to the in-form Zamora.[LNB]Alex Frei responded with a second-half penalty but Fulham replied through Zoltan Gera with what proved to be the winner. [LNB]Marco Streller's 87th-minute goal made for a nervous finale, but Fulham held on to claim a magnificent victory. [LNB]Fulham were without the suspended Paul Konchesky, Erik Nevland and Chris Baird while manager Roy Hodgson rested Brede Hangeland, Damien Duff and Clint Dempsey to the bench ahead of Saturday's visit of Manchester United. [LNB]The absentees did not affect Fulham and in the 42nd minute, they claimed the goal their increasing dominance deserved. [LNB]Basle were still complaining about a decision that had gone against them when Bjorn Helge Riise delivered the perfect cross from the right and Zamora slid in at the far post to convert the opening goal, even though their was a suspicion off offside. [LNB]And just before half time the same combination extended Fulham's advantage when Zamora chested the ball to Riise and the Norwegian's cross fell perfectly at the far post for striker, who stooped to claim his ninth goal of the season. [LNB]It was the first time in four years that Zamora, who also netted against Sunderland and Hull, had scored in three successive games. [LNB]Basle made a double substitution at half time but Fulham almost added a third a minute into the second half when Murphy's shot was parried by Massimo Colomba. [LNB]Basle gained a controversial goal in the 63rd minute when Federico Almerares's cross appeared to hit Chris Smalling in the body but the assistant referee gave a penalty and Frei converted. [LNB]Frei hit the crossbar soon afterwards but Gera converted Stephen Kelly's cross in the 77th minute. [LNB]Streller scored Basle's second but Fulham booked their place in Friday's draw when they face the prospect of drawing the likes of Juventus, Marseille or Atletico Madrid. [LNB]Match details:FC Basle (4-4-2): Colomba; Inkoom, Abraham, Cagdas Atan, Safari (Shaqiri h-t); Carlitos (Schurpf 79), Cabral (Almerares h-t), Huggel, Stocker; Frei, Streller. Subs: Wessels (g), Gelabert, Ferati, Sahin. Booked: Abraham. [LNB]Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Pantsil, Smalling, Hughes, Kelly; Riise, Etuhu, Murphy, Greening (Dempsey 70); Gera, Zamora (Duff 80). Subs: Stockdale (g), Hangeland, Saunders, Briggs, Uwezu. Booked: Zamora, Greening. [LNB]Referee: S Johanneson (Sweden). [LNB]
