- Bocanegra (23)
- Carew (21)
- Date:2007-03-03
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Craven Cottage
- Attendance:24552
- Referee:Mason, L
Live Commentary
90mins
FULHAM 1 - 1 ASTON VILLA
87mins
Petrov tries his luck form 25 yards but the ball flies just wide of Niemi's far post
84mins
It's a lacklustre finale at The Cottage with the draw specialists happy to take a away a point
81mins
With just 9 minutes to go surely the next goal will be the winner
78mins
This game seems in danger of petering out as neither team look peticularly interested in attacking
75mins
McBride makes for Collins John
72mins
Heidar Helguson on for Tomasz Radzinski
69mins
Niemi saves well after Young delivers a lovely ball for Mellberg to latch onto in the area
67mins
Maloney comes off as Gabriel Agbonlahor comes on to add to Villa's attacking options
65mins
Diop is replaced by Wayne Routledge
63mins
A fantastic atmosphere here in London as both sets of fans are in good voice
61mins
Fulham continue to have the best of the play but the Villa back four stand firm
58mins
Laursen makes way for Gary Cahill Laursen makes way for Gary Cahill
57mins
McBride shoots on the turn but the Villa keeper saves well low to his right
54mins
Nearly a disaster for Sorensen as Laursen's back pass takes a horrible bobble and almost bounces over his foot and into the net
51mins
Villa under a little pressure at the start of this half as they find themselves pinned into their own half
49mins
McBride scuffs his effort from the edge of the box as Sorensen saves pushing the ball wide
47mins
Carew lines up a free-kick from 35 yards, firing the ball inches over the bar
45mins
The second half gets underway here at The Cottage
45mins
FULHAM 1 - 1 ASTON VILLA
44mins
McCann booked for a late lunge on Tomasz Radzinski
42mins
Approaching half-time and it's the visitors who finish the half on top as they look to get back in front
40mins
Brown should of given Fulham the lead as he broke through but Sorensen saves well and McBride misses the rebound
37mins
No suprise the scoreline is level as both Villa and Fulham have drawn 11 times a piece this season
34mins
Diop gifts possession to Villa but Petrov returns the favour as he sprays his pass way off target
31mins
Villa seem to have lost fluency, looking disjointed in midfield
29mins
The home fans are on their feet as they scream for a handball as Bouma deflects the cross for a corner
26mins
Villa look to bounce back after conceding so soon after taking the lead but Fulham hold firm at the back
24mins
FULHAM 1-1 ASTON VILLA (BOCANEGRA): BOCENEGRA levels within 2 minutes as he latches onto an inswinging free-kick to slot home
21mins
FULHAM 0-1 ASTON VILLA (CAREW): CAREW scores as he beats the offside trap and slots past Niemi, but he is booked for his celebrations.
19mins
The pitch isn't making life easy as it looks to cutting up
17mins
The game settles into a pedestrian rhthym wiht neither team in any rush to get forward
15mins
The stats are piled up against Villa today as they have not won in the capital for 3 years, the last victory against Charlton in 2003
13mins
Maloney and Young do well down the line and delivers a good ball across the six yard box but no one is there to slot home into an empty net
11mins
Davis rolls a corner to the edge of the box as Queudrue goes for goal firing over
9mins
Carew adjudged to be offside as he looked to be through on goal
7mins
Sorensen is beaten all ends up after a horrible deflection rattles the bar from range after a good strike from Brown
5mins
Young and Carew link up well as the Norwegians header flies wide of the goal
3mins
Villa have not won here for 37 years, could this be the day for the midlanders as they add a little early pressure through Stilian PetrovVilla have not won here for 37 years, could this be the day for the midlanders as they add a little early pressur
0mins
Lee Mason is today's referee and he gets the game underway here at Craven Cottage
0mins
Aston Villa line-up: Sorensen, Bardsley, Mellberg, Laursen, Bouma, Maloney, Petrov, McCann, Barry, Carew, Young
0mins
Fulham line-up: Niemi, Rosenior, Pearce, Bocanegra, Queudrue, Smertin, Davies, Brown, Diop, Radzinski, McBride
Match Preview
Fulham bid to kick-start their bid for a top half finish as they entertain Aston Villa at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Three successive defeats in all competitions - including back-to-back Premeirship reverses to Manchester United and Bolton - has seen Chris Coleman's side slip to 14th in the table.
But last weekend's last-gasp 2-1 defeat by the league leaders was rough justice on the Cottagers, who more than matched United for vast portions of the game until Cristiano Ronaldo popped up with an 88th minute winner.
Fulham's main problem this season has been a lack of consistency and their failure to secure successive victories since early September highlights why they still remain dogged by the threat of relegation.
However, it would take a spectacular collapse by the Cottagers to see them dragged into the drop zone as they are currently nine points clear of 18th placed Charlton Athletic.
On the injury front, Coleman will again be without first-choice goalkeeper Antti Niemi (thigh), while Franck Queudrue took a knock on his ankle against United and is struggling to be fit.
On-loan striker Vincenzo Montella remains sidelined through suspension after his sending off in the 4-0 FA Cup fifth round defeat by Spurs two weeks ago.
Aston Villa return to action after a three-week break since their last match with a visit to the capital.
Martin O'Neill's side have enjoyed a sunshine training break in Spain during their mid-season lay-off in a bid to acquaint the raft of January transfer arrivals with their new team-mates.
Despite a superb start to the season which saw Villa occupy a top-six spot for the opening few months, it has been a different story in the second third of the campaign.
O'Neill's side are now 13th in the table and on their last outing played second fiddle to a confident Reading side in a 2-0 defeat at the Madejski Stadium.
Villa have won two and lost two of their last four Premiership games, but despite their patchy form, have given the Villa Park faithful plenty to cheer about with new signings John Carew and Ashley Young both scoring early in their club careers.
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Match Report
A spectacular diving header from Carlos Bocanegra earned Fulham a point against Aston Villa, but Antti Niemi was the Cottagers' hero.
American defender Bocanegra thumped home a superb goal from a Franck Queudrue free-kick just two minutes after John Carew had given Villa the lead.
But Chris Coleman's men couldn't finish the job despite having the better of the chances for the rest of the match.
Michael Brown twice hit the woodwork and Brian McBride went close on three further occasions, but Villa - with Gareth Barry outstanding - almost nicked it in injury time.
Carew, who could have joined Fulham earlier in his career before failing a medical, turned in the area - only for Niemi to produce a superb left-handed save.
In a frustrating match, Fulham just about had the better of the first half, which at best was bitty and at worst scrappy.
The home side went closest to opening the scoring early on when livewire Brown, who never stopped running all match, hooked a left-foot volley from outside the box towards goal.
His effort deflected off Barry and cannoned against the crossbar with Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen completely wrong-footed.
Queudrue also had a long-range effort well saved as Fulham, still without suspended striker Vincenzo Montella, surged forward.
But they were undone after 20 minutes when referee Mason unwittingly played a part in Villa's opener.
Firstly, he refused to give a foul when Alexei Smertin was left on the floor in midfield and then, when Fulham cleared the danger, he got in the way of the Russian midfielder as he tried to receive a pass.
Barry took full advantage, running into the area and setting up Carew with a slide-rule pass. The big striker turned and fired a shot which trickled past keeper Niemi and into the net.
If Fulham were furious they made that emotion count because right from the kick-off they fashioned an equaliser.
Smertin won a free-kick on the right and when Queudrue curled the ball over, Bocanegra arrived unmarked to thump home a spectacular diving header.
Fulham could have taken the lead when Martin Laursen's terrible pass was snapped up by Tomasz Radzinski after 35 minutes and he sent Brown away. But Sorensen bravely saved at the midfielder's feet and McBride's follow-up effort was fluffed.
In the second half Fulham continued to edge the play, without finding a killer instinct.
McBride drove in three shots in the space of ten minutes, two of them being saved. And Brown came mighty close to making it 2-1 when he latched on to one rebound but shot against the post.
Simon Davies also had a volley saved for the hosts while Villa almost snatched it at the end. But a draw was a fair result.
Aston Villa Team
Fulham | Aston Villa |
Corners
| 5 | 8 |
Fouls
| 10 | 21 |
Goal attempts
| 13 | 9 |
Shots off target
| 4 | 5 |
Offsides
| 3 | 8 |
89mins
The fourth official signals 2 minutes of added time to be played