Source: Team_Talk
No Lars laugh for Cottagers boss
Mark Hughes criticised Andre Marriner for failing to award his side a penalty which he believes would have given Fulham victory over West Ham.[LNB] Fulham put themselves on course to break their 13-month winless away streak just after the half-hour when Clint Dempsey came back to haunt Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green with the Cottagers' opener.[LNB]Moments earlier, Hughes was livid that Marriner did not award the away side a penalty after Eddie Johnson went down in the box under pressure from Lars Jacobsen.[LNB]Replays showed the West Ham full-back had clambered over the back of the American, leaving Hughes to reflect on what might have been had his side gone in at the break with a 2-0 lead.[LNB]"I am disappointed we didn't get the awarding of the penalty because at 2-0 going into half time it would have been difficult for them to come back," said Hughes, who saw his side denied victory thanks to Frederic Piquionne's second-half header.[LNB]"Eddie got in behind the defence and if there is any contact whatsoever then more often than not it is a penalty.[LNB]"Unfortunately for us for whatever reason it wasn't given. From our point of view it was clear, there was a coming together, a tangle of legs and a goalscoring opportunity was denied, so it should have been a penalty."[LNB]The result meant West Ham stretched their unbeaten run to four matches but wins for Everton and Wigan meant the Hammers sank to the foot of the Premier League table.[LNB]West Ham manager Avram Grant was determined to take the positives from the result despite his side's current predicament.[LNB]He said: "They dominated the first half but after half-time we changed the shape, we scored and could have scored more.[LNB]"I think the most important thing was first to take points and second to show that we are improving.[LNB]"The position in the league now is not important because one win can take you up four or five places.[LNB]"Fulham are having a good season and are playing with confidence and we are only four points away from them.[LNB]"There are a lot of teams in our area. One win can move us forward."[LNB]Dempsey's goal came 112 days after Green's infamous blunder against the American at the World Cup.[LNB]The 30-year-old could do little to stop Dempsey's 12-yard volley today and put in an impressive display in front of the hostile away following in the second half.[LNB]Grant paid tribute to the former Norwich stopper's character following the draw.[LNB]Grant continued: "Rob Green is a good goalkeeper. Every press conference I get asked: 'how is Robert Green?'.[LNB]"He was good and every player sometimes has bad moments. Some players have it in the middle of the season. He had it at the start of season. It's only because of the World Cup that everyone is speaking about him.[LNB]"He was a good goalkeeper and still is. His performance was good, and his character was good too."[LNB]Marriner had to dish out four bookings during a scrappy encounter which saw Fulham's Damien Duff leave the field with a cut eye and Dempsey end the match with a big bruise on the side of his head after he claimed he was elbowed by West Ham defender Manuel da Costa.[LNB]Grant, who ran 20 yards outside of his technical area to remonstrate with Marriner in injury-time following a Carlos Salcido bodycheck on Luis Boa Morte, felt let down by the referee's performance.[LNB]"The referee didn't have a good day," Grant said. "It happened to Robert Green in the World Cup and today it happened to him."
