Fulham 3 Vectra 0 (agg 6-0): Etuhu and Johnson see Cottagers through

07 August 2009 11:41
Two Goals for Andy Johnson wrapped up Fulham's passage to the next round of the Europa League. Manager Roy Hodgson's side now join a host of big clubs, including Aston Villa, Everton, Zenit St Petersburg, Ajax and Valencia, vying for a place in the group stage of the competition. European competition was back at Craven Cottage after a seven-year absence and Hodgson is hopeful his side will be seeded and can avoid a tricky two-legged tie in the play-off round. Dickson Etuhu opened the scoring after 56 minutes, powering a header into the back of the Lithuanians' net from a Paul Konchesky corner. Johnson added two goals in four minutes from close range late on. Hodgson's side were always in control, zipping the ball around with confidence despite the slippery conditions in torrential rain in west London. But they lacked a killer throughball early on and it was FK Vetra who forced the first save after 11 minutes when Mark Schwarzer tipped a curling, left-footed effort from Tomas Razanauskas over the bar. Hodgson said it was a game Fulham were 'obliged to win' and added: 'I don't think the score flattered us particularly in the game. 'The quality of our passing was very good. It got us three goals but it could have got us a lot more.' FULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Gera, Murphy (c), Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson, Zamora Two goals: Andrew Johnson

Source: Daily_Mail