Source: Telegraph
Fulham 2 Birmingham 1: match report
Bobby Zamora gave England manager Fabio Capello something to consider when he earned Fulham three points with a spectacular last minute free kick. [LNB]Capello was at Craven Cottage to see Fulham to recover from an inauspicious start to claim a win after Damien Duff had cancelled out Chris Baird's early own goal. [LNB]After James McFadden had seen Mark Schwarzer save an early effort, an innocuous cross from Lee Bowyer was headed beyond the Australian by team-mate Baird, with just two minutes and 11 seconds played. [LNB]It was the first goal Fulham had conceded in five hours and 19 minutes of Premier League action. Fulham responded soon afterwards when Baird when some to making amends for his early effort with a delightfully struck pass which fell invitingly to Simon Davies, whose volley was perfectly struck but met by an equally impressive save by Joe Hart, the Birmingham goalkeeper. [LNB]Birmingham, who went into the game with just two defeats in 16 previous Premier League games, went close to a second when Cameron Jerome's right-foot volley flew only narrowly wide. [LNB]The game fluctuated from end to end; next to force an attempt was Fulham defender Brede Hangeland, from Davies's corner, but the Norwegian's effort was high. [LNB]And from another corner, Hangeland appeared to have his short pulled but referee Phil Dowd was adamant there was no infringement. [LNB]Damien Duff sent another attempt high as Fulham continued to dominate the first half. A Davies header, from Zoltan Gera's pass, was held comfortably by the stretching Hart, before the interval, Bobby Zamora stretched to meet Gera's cross but sent the ball wide. [LNB]The second half produced an early chance for Capello to gauge two potential England players, with Zamora testing Hart with a left-foot volley from 20 yards. [LNB]Birmingham survived another appeal for a penalty in the 57th minute when the ball hit Scott Dann on the arm, but again Dowd rejected appeals for a spot-kick. [LNB]And Fulham finally got the goal they deserved, just before the hour mark, and watching Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni will have been satisfied after witnessing Duff bringing his side back on level terms. [LNB]The Irishmen fed Gera, collected the return pass then dispatched a left foot drive that beat Hart off the inside of the left post. [LNB]McFadden was denied a winner for Birmingham when, in the 70th minute, his half volley was touched onto the cross bar by Schwarzer and bounced on the goal-line before being cleared. [LNB]And in the final minute, Stephen Carr blocked Gera's run a yard outside the area, from where Zamora claimed his 15th goal of the season. [LNB]
