- Bullard (41), Murphy (54 pen), Dempsey (59)
- Date:2008-12-20
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Craven Cottage
- Attendance:23722
- Referee:Stroud, K
Live Commentary
90mins
Full Time: FULHAM 3-0 MIDDLESBROUGH. The final whistle goes and Fulham win comfortably. Bullard, Murphy and Dempsey scoring the goals and, in truth, it just didn't happen for Boro in the final third today despite their best efforts.
88mins
Downing plays the ball from deep into Mido who tries to pick out a low ball across the box but Hughes thumps the ball clear. Nothing happening upfront for Boro in this second half.
85mins
Robert Huth comes off for Boro and Andrew Taylor replaces him at the heart of the defence.
84mins
Jimmy Bullard makes way for Leon Andreasen as Hodgson looks to give Bullard a breather heading into the busy Christmas period.
82mins
Zamora again running down the line and feeding the ball into the path of Johnson who struck it cleanly towards goal but Turnbull saved well to deny the striker once again.
80mins
Marvin Emnes comes on for Adam Johnson. Southgate using this time to get a look at one of his fringe players with the game beyond Boro.
80mins
Danny Murphy is replaced by Dickson Etuhu. The Fulham skipper gets a standing ovation and Hodgson gives Etuhu his first taste of Premier League football.
77mins
Swift break from Fulham, Bobby Zamora skipping away from Pogatetz on the Fulham right and cutting inside to shoot, left-footed but Turnbull is down to save well.
73mins
Boro coming forward no with nothing to lose and Downing tries his luck with a long-range drive but his shot travels just wide of the post. Schwarzer looked to have it covered.
72mins
A low ball in from Johnson finds Aliadiere who swings at the ball with his right, gets it all wrong but it falls to his left boot but his attempt is comfortably saved.
71mins
Aliadiere goes on a mazing run and tricks his way past the Fulham defenders but under pressure on the byline he thrashes the ball across goal but there is no-one there and it goes for a Fulham throw.
70mins
As time ticks away, there is somewhat of a party atmosphere here at Craven Cottage as the home side enjoy their 3-0 lead playing with confidence.
67mins
Fulham have a corner as McMahon puts it behind - They work the corner short - Bullard plays it to Zamora's feet on the egde of the box but the Boro defence crowd out the chance.
66mins
Adam Johnson does well to control a fierce cross from Downing on his chest, he turns to shoot but he cannot keep it on target.
63mins
The Fulham fans cheering every pass and in the end Bullard breaks into space and tries to slide the ball into the path of Johnson but the pass doesn't quite connect and it runs through to Turnbull.
59mins
FULHAM 3-0 MIDDLESBROUGH. Wonderful move as Johnson feeds the ball to Murphy in an advanced position. Zamora draws the defenders away and DEMPSEY arrives on cue to control Murphy's pass and steer the ball into the corner.
58mins
Boro have another corner taken deep by Downing and Mido heads it back into the danger area towards Pogatetz but Zamora clears before he could bring the ball down.
55mins
Middlesbrough respond well to the goal and Mido forces a corner - Downing's ball in is well headed clear by the Fulham defence.
54mins
McMahon is booked for his protestations.
53mins
FULHAM 2-0 MIDDLESBROUGH. MURPHY steps up confidently and strikes it well into the bottom corner. A well-taken penalty but it shouldn't have been given in my opinion.
52mins
Fulham have a penalty as a cross comes in and Zamora deflects the ball onto the arm of McMahon who could do little to get out of the way. A poor decision by the officials.
51mins
A miscued strike from Dempsey falls kindly for Bullard but the midfielder loses his footing as he tries to pull the trigger.
49mins
Controvery at the Cottage as the ball is played in behind Boro towards Zamora who appeared to be in behind but the flag was raised against Johnson but the home fans clearly feel he wasn't active in play.
48mins
Boro have a corner infront of their own fans - Fulham clear but the visitors keep posession but as they try to work the ball towards the box Murphy gets in to win the ball for Fulham.
47mins
Jimmy Bullard coming in field from the right hand side and angling the ball in left-footed onto the chest of Zamora who turns and shoots but it spins off his boot and goes well wide.
46mins
The second period is underway and both sides will be confident that they can win this game in the next 45 minutes.
45mins
Arca is withdrawn at half-time with Mido coming on to replace him. Southgate is obviously looking for a more significant physical presence in attack.
45mins
Half-Time: FULHAM 1-0 MIDDLESBROUGH. The half-time whistle goes and Jimmy Bullard's strike is the difference between the sides. Fulham have dominated but there is no doubt that Boro have looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
43mins
Break away from Boro and the ball is played to Tuncay and it opens up for the Turk and he shoots from range but gets it all wrong and sends the ball high into the Hammersmith stand.
42mins
Hangeland plays the ball into the feet of Johnson who turns past Riggott and the striker goes down but referee Keith Stroud waves away the claims for a push.
40mins
FULHAM 1-0 MIDDLESBROUGH: Low cross from Dempsey, Zamora controls and turns to shoot but Turnbull is down to save well but the ball breaks for BULLARD who thumps the ball into the back of the net.
37mins
Johnson is back on his feet but that could have been much worse and Arca is very lucky to remain on the pitch, although he does pick up a booking.
36mins
Worrying moments for the Fulham fans as Andy Johnson goes down under a horrific tackle from Arca as he goes beyond the ball and catches the standing leg of the forward.
35mins
Dempsey works himself a yard on the right hand side and crosses towards the back-post, it beats Zamora but Davies is there to pick up the loose ball. He turns inside onto his right-foot and bends it towards the far corner but it goes a fraction wide.
32mins
Rapid break from Middlesbrough as Johnson works the ball to Aliadiere from the left hand side but the Frenchman's shot is well saved and Schwarzer is up quickly to save the rebound from Downing.
31mins
Zoltan Gera limps off and looks in some pain as he is replaced by Bobby Zamora. Dempsey is likely to move onto the right wing and Zamora will partner Johnson up front.
30mins
Fantastic play from Paintsil on the right hand side and as the ball broke loose, Johnson was free inside the box and the flag stayed down but Johnson was denied by a fantastic Turnbull save.
26mins
Paintsil finds Johnson who twists and turns on the edge of the area before pulling the trigger but again the shot is charged down quickly.
23mins
Downing takes the corner, whips it in with pace and Tuncay rises to win the header but he can't direct the ball on target.
23mins
Penalty claim for Boro as Johnson crosses towards Shawky who went down under the challenge of Paintsil and it looked as though he may have been pushed. The referee only awards Boro a corner.
21mins
Great play from Fulham. A neat dummy from Bullard letting the ball run into Konchesky who drives from range and as it falls for Gera, Arca is forced to concede the corner to relieve the danger.
19mins
Davies delivers the corner, in-swinging. It travels to the back-post onto the head of Paintsil but he heads wide from close range. He knows he should have scored!
19mins
Jimmy Bullard whips the ball in low from the right into Johnson who turns on a sixpence and shoots left-footed but it is deflected behind for a corner.
17mins
Dempsey touches the ball into Bullard who has time to pick out a raking diagonal ball towards the run of Davies on the left but McMahon does well to read the danger and chest the ball down to Turnbull in goal.
13mins
Downing plays an early cross into Tuncay who turns the ball into the space in behind the Fulham back line and Aliadiere is onto it but Schwarzer is out quickly to gather the ball. Smart keeping from the Australian.
11mins
Danny Murphy wins the ball for Fulham as Boro look to break, he finds Dempsey who shoots but it is well blocked and Boro clear.
9mins
Neat passing from Fulham, Bullard pulling the strings in the centre of the midfield but Johnson cannot find the space in behind the solid Middlesbrough back line and the visitors are able to clear.
5mins
A good break from Dempsey down the left hand side and he angles his cross onto the head of Simon Davies who tries to nod it into the path of Gera but it just evades the Hungarian.
5mins
Jimmy Bullard lifts the ball in behind Robert Huth for the run of Johnson and after a mix-up between keeper and defender, Huth is forced into a panicked clearance.
2mins
First corner of the game comes for Middlesbrough, Downing will deliver from the right. The chipped corner is headed away by Hangeland and as the ball is played back in by McMahon, Schwarzer is awarded a free-kick.
1mins
Referee Keith Stroud gets this one underway.
0mins
Gareth Southgate has left out Mido, Alves and Wheater, who all sit on the bench. Aliadiere will partner Tuncay up front for the visitors with Shawky coming in for the injured Digard.
0mins
Unsurprisingly, Fulham's side is unchanged after their draw with Stoke making it six games unbeaten for the Cottagers. Jimmy Bullard keeps his place in midfield despite the media speculation over his future.
0mins
Middlesbrough: Turnbull, McMahon, Riggott, Huth, Pogatetz, Johnson, Shawky, Arca, Downing, Aliadiere, Sanli
0mins
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Davies, Bullard, Murphy, Gera, Dempsey, Johnson
0mins
Middlesbrough had been on a very good run of form but have failed to win any of their last five games since beating Aston Villa away from home in November.
0mins
Roy Hodgson's men have been in good form for most of the season, particularly at the back, as Fulham have risen to 10th in the table.
0mins
Welcome to Craven Cottage where Fulham entertain Middlesbrough on the banks of the Thames.
Match Preview
Two teams predicted to struggle but currently exceeding expectations meet at Craven Cottage when tenth placed Fulham entertain a Middlesbrough side in 12th spot.
The home side are currently in the midst of a six-game unbeaten run which they maintained with a goalless draw against Stoke City last weekend.
After their fourth successive stalemate, manager Roy Hodgson bemoaned their lack of attacking potency, but deep down the experienced manager must be delighted with the way his side has performed in the first half of the season.
The Cottagers have found the net just 12 times in their 16 games built have built their success on a miserly defence and impressive home record of just one defeat in eight games.
"It's frustrating to play as well as we did and not quite deliver that cross or final pass," said Hodgson. "The movement and passing is excellent, now we need that final touch to kill teams off."
Hodgson continues to be blessed by a brief injury list which once again contains only fringe members of his squad in Andranik Teimourian, Ki-Hyeon Seol and Diomansy Kamara (all knee).
Middlesbrough arrive in the capital buoyed by their performance in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
Jeremie Aliadiere's first-half equaliser against his former club earned an under-strength Boro side a creditable point and helped consolidate their mid-table position.
The Teessiders were without a host of players last weekend and once again the likes of Gary O'Neil (hamstring), Justin Hoyte (knee), Andrew Taylor (knee) and Mido (hamstring) are set to miss out through injury.
Misfiring club record signing Afonso Alves may have to be content with a place on the bench with Aliadiere and Tuncay both scoring in recent weeks, but David Wheater will return to bolster the defence after serving a one-match suspension.
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Match Report
Jimmy Bullard gave Fulham manager Roy Hodgson the perfect example of why he is worth the pay rise he is demanding by scoring the opener in their 3-0 win over Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage.
The England squad member is reported to be on his way out of Fulham in January after the club disagreed with his opinion that he is worth £50,000 a week.
But the 29-year-old scored just before half-time before a Danny Murphy penalty and Clint Dempsey's calm finish sealed a fine victory.
Fulham are now up to eighth in the Premier League, but Gareth Southgate's visitors are winless in six games and the only impact they made on this game was on Andy Johnson's shin as Julio Arca launched into a disgracefully high challenge that should have brought a straight red card.
The margin of defeat could have been even worse as Middlesbrough appeared to give up the ghost in the second half, with former Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer never truly tested.
The game started at a snail's pace, with neither side confident either on the ball or going forward.
It was clear that the first goal was going to be particularly crucial and both sides missed good chances to claim it as, firstly, John Paintsil somehow headed wide from four yards out for the hosts before Sanli Tuncay's flick skimmed the post for Middlesbrough.
But it was to be Bullard who stepped up to the plate for Fulham.
All the talk recently has been of the £5million-rated player leaving for pastures new but that appears unlikely while he is scoring goals, as he has done in his last two home games.
It was a horrible goal to give away as Chris Riggott was turned far too easily by Bobby Zamora and when Ross Turnbull spilled the tame shot, Bullard ran past two static defenders to net the rebound.
That came shortly after Arca had left his mark on Johnson with a raking challenge that started at shin height and ended with his studs embedded in the striker's ankle - a tackle for which a yellow card was hardly sufficient punishment.
But retribution was swift and this time it was Middlesbrough who were left feeling aggrieved.
There appeared no danger as Tony McMahon went to clear but after Zamora blocked his shot, the ball hit his arm.
Intent was certainly minimal but that made no difference as referee Keith Stroud, on the advice of his assistant, pointed to the spot.
Murphy calmly slid the ball into the far corner for his fourth of the season and it was the Fulham captain at the heart of the third goal just before the hour-mark as he slid the ball across the box to the criminally unmarked Dempsey, who took his time before placing his shot across Turnbull and inside the far post.
Fulham played out time in extreme comfort as they extended their impressive defensive record to just 12 goals conceded in 17 league games - a statistic Middlesbrough could only dream of on this evidence.
Fulham Team
Middlesbrough Team
Fulham | Middlesbrough |
Corners
| 6 | 4 |
Fouls
| 12 | 7 |
Goal attempts
| 20 | 12 |
Shots off target
| 6 | 7 |
Offsides
| 6 | 1 |



89mins
Stewart Downing tries his luck from range again with no options in-front of him but the winger falls off balance as he struck it and in the end it was closer to the corner flag than the goal.