Source: SKY_Sports
Hodgson bemoans dismissal
// 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 boss Roy Hodgson sympathised with Kagisho Dikgacoi after the midfielder was red-carded during their 2-2 draw at West Ham.[LNB] Dikgacoi was making his debut for the club but received his marching orders for violent conduct towards the end of the first half with his side already a goal down.[LNB]The South African, who joined Fulham from Golden Arrows in the summer, appeared to head-butt Hammers midfielder Scott Parker in an off-the-ball incident which was spotted by the fourth official.[LNB]Despite being a goal down, Fulham recovered from the setback to take the lead in the second period, only being denied a win by a late Junior Stanislas strike.[LNB]Hodgson was quick to deny any wrongdoing by Dikgacoi and voiced his sympathy with the player as his debut was cut short.[LNB]"It didn't look too violent to me, I've got to say," Hodgson told Sky Sports. "The lad has come out of South Africa and was playing his first match.[LNB]Disappointed"I don't know what happened between the two players but I'm always disappointed when professional players get sent off for something that the word 'handbags' would be an exaggeration.[LNB]"I come from a time of playing football when there was quite a lot of violence on the football field and people actually did get head-butted and get kicked and people got hurt.[LNB]"At most you could accuse him of being na?, that I suppose is a crime but he's devastated and he's got my sympathy."[LNB]Hodson was reluctant to criticise referee Phil Dowd but reiterated his disagreement with the decision.[LNB]He added: "I can't say that I accept it, and I can't say that I think it's a good thing because I think the spectacle would have been better had it continued with 11 against 11."[LNB]A Danny Murphy penalty and a Zoltan Gera volley turned the game on its head in the second half after Carlton Cole had given West Ham a first-half lead.[LNB]Fulham were resilient for the reminder of the game but were finally undone by Stanislas' deflected strike in injury time but Hodgson remains proud of his players.[LNB]He said: "We played so well for all of 50 to 60 minutes playing with 10 men. I thought we did really well to contain them in that period and create chances of our own.[LNB]"Of course when you concede a goal in the dying minutes with a deflection it's very difficult to say I'm satisfied, that I'm happy.[LNB]"But I'm very proud and very satisfied, more than satisfied, with my players' performances.[LNB]Sturdy"I don't think there is any more they could have done, there were some sturdy performances out there and I suppose my disappointment is more for them.[LNB]"We'll get over it and we'll take positives from it which was largely the performance."[LNB]Hodgson feels his side were always in control of the game even as Cole headed the hosts into the lead after 16 minutes.[LNB]"I thought we were very unlucky to be a goal down at that time because I thought we'd controlled the game well and had chances of our own," he said.[LNB]"So of course then we went down to 10 men and it was still 1-0, things looked bleak, but the players continued to play in the same way and we kept the ball quite well even with 10. [LNB]"And most important of all the defensive organisation was as good as it had been in the first half."[LNB]
