Fulham v Liverpool live!

31 October 2009 13:59
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Fulham take full advantage of Liverpool's numerical disadvantage as Nevland threads a pass to Dempsey and the USA international makes no mistake when slotting past Reina.[LNB]88 GOAL DEMPSEY (3-1)!!![LNB]86 Fulham make their own change as Dickson Etuhu makes his return to first-team action following injury as he comes on.[LNB]84 Dempsey hits the following free-kick into the wall and Pantsil's effort goes for a corner. Zamora has the ball in the back of the net, but he is offside. Liverpool replace Kuyt with Daniel Ayala.[LNB]82 Unbelievable. Carragher is off now. He is on the wrong side of Zamora again and is shown a stright red card as he hauls down the Fulham forward. Correct decision this time and surely curtains for Liverpool in the Premier League title race.[LNB]79 Things go from bad to worse for Liverpool as Degen is shown a straight red card by referee Mason following a lunging tackle on Dempsey. It looks very harsh. A yellow card, yes. But not a red.[LNB]77 Benayoun is now the next to go off in another unbelievable tactical decision from Benitez. Nathan Eccleston comes on.[LNB]75 Fulham are rampant and Zamora just hits an effort over the top from 10 yards. Benitez is going to get hammered in the papers if Liverpool lose this, which it looks like they will.[LNB] Nevland lives up to his reputation as a goal poacher as he applies a deft finishing flick to give Fulham back the lead. Konchesky crosses, Reina gets his hands to the ball, but Gera stirs the ball back into the danger area and Nevland does the rest.[LNB]73 GOAL NEVLAND (2-1)!!![LNB]72 Liverpool win a corner, take it short, work the ball to Javier Mascherano and the Argentine, who is not known for his goalscoring, hits a weak effort into the Craven Cottage stands.[LNB]71 Have just caught a glimpse of Torres on the bench and he does have an ice pack on his thigh.[LNB]69 To be expected, Liverpool are now lacking an offensive edge following the departure of Torres. The change can only be with the midweek trip to Lyon in mind. But points are needed in the league.[LNB]67 Fulham definitely fancy winning this contest now as Kyrgiakos is forced to punt out for a throw-in deep in his own territory. The ball makes its way to Zamora, but he smashes wide and high from the edge of the box. A wasted chance.[LNB]66 Torres goes off and is replaced by Ryan Babel. Presumably it is because of an injury, but Torres shrugs his shoulders as he goes off and appears to be okay. A strange decision from Benitez.[LNB]63 Fulham want a penalty! A long ball sees Zamora and Carragher in a foot race. Liverpool defender Carragher is on the wrong side of his rival attacker and both players go down. Referee Mason decides it is not a foul. Have seen them given.[LNB]62 Fulham again attack down the left as Zamora sends in a cross and Gera does brilliantly to bring the ball down and volley a hooked effort at goal. Unfortunately for the Cottagers, the effort is straight at Jose Reina.[LNB]61 Torres attempts a cross-field pass when dripping deep, but the ball is horribly over-hit and smashed out of play to give Fulham a free-kick.[LNB]60 Lucas receives an ear-bashing from Carragher as he gives away possession and Liverpool are fortunate to escape when Kyrgiakos brings down Zamora, who was on the charge forward.[LNB]58 Fulham have clearly be given encouragement from Hodgson at half-time. Konchesky is attacking this half and Liverpool right-back Degen appears to have been identified as a weak link.[LNB]56 Paul Konchesky has chance to cross from the left, but Carragher volleys clear. Lucas is brought down by Baird and earns a booking around the half-way line. That seems a bit harsh on the Fulham man.[LNB]52 The ball falls nicely for Dempsey on the edge of the Liverpool box after a Nevland header, but he fails to connect properly when lining up a shot under pressure from defenders.[LNB]50 It's all a bit scrappy so far in the second half. An abundance of long balls is making it all very sloppy. Nevland has a chance to open his legs and run at goal. Insua, though, has too much pace and gets back to defend.[LNB]47 Liverpool are on the attack from the beginning as Nevland fouls. However, Insua's free-kick is into the arms Schwarzer.[LNB]WE'RE BACK: There have been changes as the second half starts. Duff (Achilles) and Kamara (knee) have gone off to be replaced by Zoltan Gera and Erik Nevland.[LNB]Stuart Rutherford says: "Good to see zamora getting a goal after that horror miss last week. Reckon this will finish 2-2. Nevland to sneak a late equaliser for Fulham!"[LNB] Voronin is taking a pummelling in the half-time emails. Too many to publish them all, but Mr Brimelow, Mr Hitchcock and Wasim Hamedd are among those in agreement.[LNB]45 + 1 HALF-TIME: The first half comes to a close with the score 1-1. Zamora's opener was cancelled out by Torres. Let me have your thoughts on the opening action at peter.fraser@bskyb.com.[LNB]45 ADDED TIME: There will be a minimum of one minute added time at the end of the first half.[LNB] The same as against Manchester United for the Spaniard - one chance, one goal. It is tough on Fulham as Aaron Hughes fails to properly clear a tame and misdirected Voronin header and the ball falls to Torres, who opens his body to smash a volley past Schwarzer from outside the area.[LNB]42 GOAL TORRES (1-1)!!![LNB]41 Jamie Carragher attempts to dink a ball towards Torres, however, there is too much flight on the pass and Schwarzer can collect. Fulham's entire team is within 35 yards of their own goal and they do not look like they are going to be broken down.[LNB]38 Degen and Kuyt work nicely to create room for the former to cross, but the giant figure of Hangeland is there to nod away.[LNB]36 Fulham work control of the ball beautifully and John Pantsil crosses to cause Kyrgiakos to dive at full stretch to head away. Hodgson's side are increasing in confidence while Liverpool do not look like they have any ideas how to break down a well organised defence.[LNB]34 Philipp Degen has a chance to cross, but the Liverpool right-back hits a half-volley with too much power and the ball is out for a goal-kick as another attack comes to nothing for the visitors.[LNB]32 Liverpool have not responded since the goal and Fulham are now offering more of a threat. Kamara is back on after receiving treatment, but it he is still struggling with his injury.[LNB]30 A counter-attack for Fulham as Diomansy Kamara turns and shoots over the bar from 20 yards. The Fulham man, who has struggled with injuries at Craven Cottage, is off receiving treatment with the ball out of play.[LNB]28 Voronin takes the kick, but Hangeland prevents Kyrgiakos from meeting the ball with his head. Liverpool are again enjoying the control of the game. Fulham, though, are coping well with the slow pace of their visitor's attacks.[LNB]27 Liverpool now face a real test. The Reds have dominated possession, however, Fulham have stood strong and been relatively comfortable. But Liverpool have won a free-kick wide on the right.[LNB] Completely against the run of play, but Zamora makes up for his shocking miss last weekend against Manchester City as he gives Fulham the lead. Damien Duff hits the ball across the face of goal from the left and, with Liverpool incorrectly looking for offside, Zamora is left with a simple tap-in.[LNB]24 GOAL ZAMORA (1-0)!!![LNB]22 Liverpool carve their best opportunity as Benayoun rattles the crossbar from inside the 18-yard area. Voronin's follow-up volley from the edge of the box hits a crowd of players. This is very similar to the Reds' trip to Fulham last season as they dominate but cannot find an early opener.[LNB]21 Zamora goes down under pressure from Kyrgiakos and the Fulham fans deliver ironic cheers as they win a free-kick. The Cottagers fail to make use of the ball and Liverpool are back into their dominant possession.[LNB]19 Liverpool continue to, patiently, turn the screw. Kuyt hits a low cross along the six-yard line. However, the ball just evades Torres' outstretched leg.[LNB]17 Liverpool win a corner as they increase the pressure on Fulham. Zamora heads away at the near post.[LNB]16 Benayoun hits the free-kick, but the Fulham wall jumps and deflects the ball away for a throw-in.[LNB]15 Barid brings down Torres right on the edge of the Fulham box. A great chance for Liverpool from the free-kick.[LNB]13 Hodgson's side are struggling to get Bobby Zamora into the game at present. The striker is being tightly marshalled by the intimidating figure of Sotirios Kyrgiakos.[LNB]12 Benayoun and Torres are linking nicely and are clearly on the same wavelength. Fulham will need to be on their guard to the former cutting in from wide positions in trademark style.[LNB]10 Torres nips in to intercept a passage of Fulham possession, however, his lay-off to Benayoun is a little short and Baird breaks up the possible attack.[LNB]9 Liverpool respond with their own attack from the free-kick and Torres is too quick for Brede Hangeland, but Schwarzer is off his line to gather.[LNB]7 A rare chance for Fulham to attack in the opening minutes, but Damien Duff pulls Benayoun's shirt and Liverpool have a free-kick.[LNB]6 Good opportunity for Liverpool as Fernando Torres is felled wide on the left by Chris Baird. Yossi Benayoun crosses from the free-kick. Mark Schwarzer punches clear and Benayoun is then offside when following up.[LNB]5 Clint Dempsey drives forwards for Fulham, but plays to his left on the edge of Liverpool's box when the better pass was to his left.[LNB]3 Great chance for Andriy Voronin as Kuyt swings in a dangerous cross and the Ukraine international gets his head to the ball. However, Voronin appears to strangely attempt to head back across goal. He was stumbling slightly.[LNB]2 Liverpool have started on the front foot and have Fulham pinned in their own half. The Reds are taking time to keep possession.[LNB]KICK-OFF: We are under way as Fulham get the game going.[LNB] The teams are on the field and going through the compulsory handshakes. Kick-off is only a couple of minutes away.[LNB] Fulham 3/1, Draw 12/5, Liverpool 8/11. Liverpool will look to build on their triumph over the champions with a tricky away day at Craven Cottage. Punters have backed Liverpool strongly at 10/11. Torres is also a favourite to open the scoring at 7/2.[LNB]Thomas Seddon says: "Can't believe Rafa is getting stick for his team selection. Obviously some alleged Liverpool fans have not heard that Aquilani's virus has decimated the first-team squad with Agger, Skrtel, Aurelio and Cavalieri all falling foul of it. I am surprised to see Voronin start, I think I'd rather have 10 men than him play. Fulham are a good side, and Craven cottage is a tough place to go, but lets hope we can battle through." - Benitez made a point on Friday saying that the virus Aquilani is suffering from is not swine flu.[LNB] Liverpool boss Benitez has taken a few characteristic gambles on his team selection, although some have been forced upon him. Has the Spaniard opened himself up to potential criticism and scrutiny if the correct result is not secured?[LNB] Any Fulham fans out there in internet land? Let me have your views at peter.fraser@bskyb.com.[LNB]Adam Woods says: "Liverpool to edge out a close encounter 1-0. Definitely worrying to see Aquilani, Agger, Skrtel, Aurelio, Gerrard AND Johnson out, but it's a good time to see if the fringe players can make a difference at Anfield." He sent his email twice, obviously keen for a shout-out so I was happy to oblige.[LNB]Jim Honeyman says: "Looks like Rafa is taking this game for granted. Could be a big mistake. As for the comment on Lucas, I think he has being improving this season."[LNB]Ian Marshall says: "Lucas and the entire Liverpool squad are better than people think. I say, Fulham 1 Liverpool 3."[LNB]Jason Brimelow says: "OK, i can accept Lucus in there but Benayoun on the left and Voronin up top???? rather see Benayoun in the hole and Aurelio on left."[LNB]Neil Upton says: "Liverpool will be looking to build on last week's win against United, and with that line up I fancy them to win by the odd goal. Come on the Reds!" - by the way Neil, call me Pete, we're all friends here.[LNB] No sign of Martin Skrtel or Daniel Agger in Liverpool's squad, while Fabio Aurelio is also absent and Alberto Aquilani is not fit enough to be considered after picking upa virus. Fulham are still without Andy Johnson (groin), but boss Roy Hodgson hopes for a positive fitness update. Dickson Etuhu is on the bench after injury, but Simon Davies has only just resumed training.[LNB]Keith Hitchcock says: "No chance of Liverpool winning with that team.They must find a better player than Lucas soon if they want to be taken serious as Premier Champions."[LNB]Referee: Lee Mason (England)[LNB]Liverpool team: Reina, Degen, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Kuyt, Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun, Voronin, Torres. Subs: Gulacsi, Babel, Spearing, Plessis, Dossena, Eccleston, Ayala.[LNB]Fulham team: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Baird, Greening, Duff, Zamora, Kamara. Subs: Zuberbuhler, Kelly, Nevland, Gera, Riise, Etuhu, Smalling.[LNB] What can we expect from today's encounter on the banks of The Thames? Will Fulham bring Liverpool back down to earth after last weekend's win over Manchester United? Are Rafa Benitez's Reds set for a winning run in the league? Can Liverpool cope without the injured Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson? Let me have your thoughts throughout the afternoon and I will publish a selection of the best? Drop me a line at peter.fraser@bskyb.com.[LNB] Welcome to our live commentary of the Premier League clash between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage. Team news to follow.[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports