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  • Johnson, A (23), Murphy (66 pen)
  • Ameobi (57)
  • Date:2008-11-09
  • Kick-off:16:00
  • Venue:Craven Cottage
  • Attendance:24740
  • Referee:Atkinson, M

Live Commentary

90mins

Full-Time: FULHAM 2-1 NEWCASTLE.

90mins

Newcastle win a free-kick that Barton will take. He looks for a team-mate with a low cross but it deflects off the wall and rolls straight into the arms of Schwarzer.

90mins

Konchesky tries his luck with a free-kick on the corner of the box but he sends it high and wide of the target.

90mins

The fourth official indicates four minutes of added time.

88mins

Danny Murphy may have got the winning goal today and receives a rapturous applause as he leaves the field for Chris Baird.

87mins

Beye is booked for a foul and Fulham win a free-kick in a decent looking position but again Bullard's delivery is poor, evading everyone and sailing behind for a goal-kick.

85mins

Bullard takes a corner but fails to find a team-mate. His side have lost their composure a little, but Newcastle look out of ideas in the Fulham half.

83mins

Beye is getting a lot of space down the right flank at the moment but his crosses so far have been well defended by Fulham, but the pressure is mounting on the home side.

80mins

Duff runs at the Fulham defence and reaches the byline but his cross is cut out at the near post.

79mins

Murphy is somewhat unfortunate to be the third player booked.

79mins

Owen really should have done better with that opportunity and it is one that you would put your house on the England International to score.

78mins

Enrique catches the Fulham defence off-guard as he picks out Owen with a cross but he doesn't connect properly on the edge of the six-yard box and sends the ball in the opposite direction.

76mins

Dempsey leads a Fulham counter attack and plays through Nevland who cuts inside before hitting a shot, but is is straight at Given.

74mins

Hodgson makes his second change, as Erik Nevland enters the fray n place of Bobby Zamora.

73mins

Straight up the other end and Martins gets a snap shot away with the outside of his boot from the edge of the box but he fails to really trouble Schwarzer.

73mins

Simon Davies cuts onto his right foot on the edge of the box before trying to bend the ball into the far corner and the ball whistles past the post.

72mins

Zamora shows good hold up play before showing his strength as he takes on Coloccini, but his final ball is poor and it sails behind for a goal-kick

71mins

The Newcastle heads seem to have dropped a little since the goal but need to continue the spirit they showed in recent revivals and raise the tempo again.

70mins

Michael Owen comes on for Jonas Gutierrez

67mins

Coloccini will be furious with Cacapa after the penalty, he had to try and make up for his mistake and ended up giving away a penalty.

65mins

FULHAM 2-1 NEWCASTLE: Skipper DANNY MURPHY buries the spot-kick in the left corner of the goal, giving Shay Given no chance.

64mins

Johnson turns Cacapa and bursts into the box and is brought down by a cynical foul from Coloccini. Martin Atkinson quite rightly points to the spot. The Newcastle player is booked.

63mins

Roy Hodgson makes his first change of the game. Zoltan Gera, who hasn't been involved in this second-half, makes way for USA international Clint Dempsey.

62mins

It is all Newcastle at the moment and they have their tails up after the goal. They look much more dangerous in the final third now.

60mins

Fulham clear their lines from a Newcastle cross but only as far as Butt who strikes the ball first time, sending his shot fizzing past the far post.

58mins

Barton lets fly from distance and forces a fine save out of Schwarzer who gets down to his right to parry the ball away to safety.

57mins

Ameobi seemed to be stood in an offside position when the ball came off Butt and Fulham boss Roy Hodgson may have something to say about that after the game.

56mins

FULHAM 1-1 NEWCASTLE: Duff's cross finds Butt and his mis-kick falls into the path of SHOLA AMEOBI who slots the ball home from close range.

54mins

Michael Owen is warming up on the touchline and it may not be long till we see him introduced. He is the kind of player that would have made the most of that opportunity for the visitors.

52mins

Enrique sends a low and inviting ball across the six-yard box but Ameobi is not on the same wavelength and Fulham win a goal-kick.

50mins

Gutierrez sends the ball across the face of goal but is is just behind his team-mate making a late entry into the box. Duff regains possession and picks out Butt in the box and his header loops over the crossbar.

49mins

Martins finds Butt on the edge of the box whose chipped pass picks out Duff one-on-one with Schwarzer but his shot is straight at the keeper. The linesman's flag had been raised anyway - Martins was stood in an offside position.

47mins

Newcastle win a free-kick in a decent position. Biutt drives in a shot that deflects off Gera and in the end it is a comfortable save for Mark Schwarzer.

46mins

Martin Atkinson gets the second-half underway with Fulham kicking-off.

45mins

Half Time: FULHAM 1-0 NEWCASTLE.

44mins

The visitors are gradually seeing more of the ball in the Fulham half but are lacking the final ball. The Cottagers look much more dangerous on the attack.

42mins

Brede Hangeland picks up the first booking of the game.

40mins

Duff strikes the ball first time from a tight angle and his shot clips the post and goes behind for a goal-kick.

39mins

Bullard breaks through the centre and Zamora picks him out with a through ball. The midfielder latches onto it inside the box and goes down under a challenge, but is is theatrical more than anything and Martin Atkinson waves play on.

37mins

Martins finds space on the edge of the box and gets a snap shot away but drags the ball wide of the mark.

35mins

The most disappointing thing for Newcastle is that they still haven't had a shot on goal and the Fulham defence looks rater comfortable.

32mins

The combination of Martins and Ameobi isn't functioning either at the moment, and the latter shows his frustration after his partner failed to latch onto a headed flick-on.

31mins

Newcastle string a few passes together and look most dangerous when the ball is with their wide players.

29mins

It is worth noting that Newcastle are no strangers to coming back from behind, after coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Everton last month.

28mins

Bullard whips a dangerous looking cross into the box searching out Zamora but Cacapa heads clear, this time with conviction.

27mins

The Newcastle defence needs to sort itself out as there seems to be some misunderstanding in the partnership between Cacapa and Collocini at the moment.

25mins

Fulham are through again and the ball falls to Zamora in the box but he is pulled back for offside.

24mins

Cacapa should have dealt better with that cross and is shaking his head at himself as Johnson runs off to celebrate.

23mins

FULHAM 1-0 NEWCASTLE: A cross comes in and Cacapa's headed clearance bounces off his own player and into the path of ANDY JOHNSON who fires home a low 12-yard shot.

21mins

Davies plays through Johnson in the box and he tries to pick out Gera on the edge of the 6-yard box but Beye puts in a vital interception.

20mins

Fulham work the ball on the edge of the box with Bullard pulling all the strings, but Zamora brings the move to an end as he knocks the ball out for a Newcastle throw.

18mins

Bullard whips in a corner and finds Gera who sends a powerful header goal-wards but Enrique heads over his own crossbar from three yards out to deny the midfielder.

17mins

There will be several players out to impress today with Fabio Capello watching from the stands.

16mins

The visitors enjoy a decent spell of possession but in the end a sloppy pass goes out for a Fulham throw-in.

14mins

Zamora plays through Simon Davies in the box and his chipped cross to the back post finds Gera but he cannot get enough direction on his header and the ball goes behind for a goal-kick.

12mins

Neither side has managed to make a real break through so far but at the moment it is Fulham who are seeing much more of the ball.

11mins

Zoltan Gera goes down on the edge of the box and it looks like a foul from Jonas Gutierrez but the referee waves play on.

9mins

Fulham have a free-kick in a decent position but Jimmy Bullard sends his shot into the wall.

6mins

Bobby Zamora gest ot the byline and fizzes the ball across the face of goal, but he fails to pick out Johnson and Newcastle win a throw-in.

5mins

Newcastle look sharp and will be high in confidence after picking up back-to-back wins.

4mins

Fulham seem to be looking to hit Bobby Zamora with the long ball at the moment, with Andy Johnson playing off the former West Ham forward.

3mins

The news is that Steven Taylor has been ruled out of today's game with a groin injury, making way for Cacapa to make just his third appearance of the season.

1mins

Jose Enrique sends an early ball forward but it is too far ahead of Obafemi Martins, who is in top form at the moment.

1mins

Referee Martin Atkinson gets the game underway at a sodden Craven Cottage.

0mins

Joe Kinnear makes one change to the Newcastle side that beat Everton on Monday night, with Claudio Cacapa coming in for Steven Taylor at centre half. Youngster Andrew Caroll takes Cacapa's place on the bench.

0mins

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson names an unchanged side to the one that lost at Goodison Park last time out and the Cottagers will be looking for just a second win in nine league and cup games.

Match Preview

Fulham, free of the relegation zone only on goal difference, will host a surging Newcastle United team on Sunday afternoon.

The Cottagers will be satisfied by their form, going on a three-match unbeaten run that was only ended by Everton last week, but intimidated by Newcastle's - the Magpies have won their last two games in impressive fashion.

"It's massive, the confidence from results and climbing away from the foot of the table," explained Newcastle coach Chris Hughton after Monday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

"We knew where we were before the game and we needed to improve on that. We know where we are now and what we now have with this group of lads is an opportunity to improve even more."

Much of the success has been put down to an improved spirit at the club since Joe Kinnear became interim manager at the end of September - a claim that defender Steven Taylor has supported.

"Hopefully, we have put a smile back on the fans' faces with a good result and team performance against Aston Villa on Monday night," Taylor said during the week.

"There is a togetherness now which we had been missing. It is so tight at the bottom end that a few wins can push you up towards the top. For us now, it is all about how we perform."

Nicky Butt and Michael Owen made their returns to the side against Villa this week, although England striker Owen was only brought on as a 90th minute substitute.

Kinnear may be inclined to give the former Liverpool and Real Madrid hitman a longer run-out on Sunday, with Shola Ameobi likely to miss out should Owen start the match.

Fulham are struggling for production in attack, with Andre Johnson leading the scoring charts with just two goals - both of which were scored against Wigan two games ago.

"We still haven't conceded a lot of goals, so we need to keep that going and keep creating chances and things will turn eventually," claimed defender Brede Hangeland.

With Diomansy Kamara and Seol Ki-Hyeon no closer to returns from knee injuries, the pressure remains on Johnson, Bobby Zamora and Erik Nevland to perform.


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Match Report

Danny Murphy scored his 100th goal in club football as Fulham secured a priceless 2-1 win against Newcastle United at Craven Cottage.

Andy Johnson's first-half opener had been cancelled out by Shola Ameobi before Murphy settled the game from the penalty spot as Joe Kinnear's side endured another fruitless trip to the capital.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson kept faith with the team that was narrowly beaten by Everton last weekend and his side enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges as Jimmy Bullard, Murphy and Zoltan Gera all came close to breaking the deadlock.

The home side got the goal their play deserved on 23 minutes thanks to a defensive error by Claudio Cacapa.

Bullard swung in a cross from the left wing but the Brazilian could only head the ball against his fellow South American Fabricio Coloccini.

The ball fell kindly for Johnson, who claimed his third goal in two games with a firm eight-yard strike past Shay Given.

Newcastle began to exert some pressure of their own as the half wore on. Obafemi Martins collected Ameobi's knockdown but could only fire wide and Damien Duff was unlucky to see his right-footed effort come back off the post after showing a good turn of pace to beat Paul Konchesky.

But the visitors were level ten minutes after the restart. Duff's deflected cross caused mayhem in the Fulham box, allowing Ameobi to finish from close range with the crowd screaming for offside.

Hodgson responded by replacing Gera with Clint Dempsey and was rewarded with a penalty two minutes later.

Johnson burst into the box and went down under a clumsy challenge from Coloccini, with referee Martin Atkinson pointing straight to the spot. Fulham captain Murphy stepped up to slot home the penalty.

Kinnear brought on Michael Owen for the closing stages and the former Liverpool star should have equalised with ten minutes remaining. However, he failed to convert from six yards with England coach Fabio Capello watching in the stands.

Fulham

Newcastle United

Corners

61

Fouls

1311

Goal attempts

1213

Shots off target

55

Offsides

23

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