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  • Johnson, A (14), Nevland (71), Nevland (80)
  • Nugent (84)
  • Date:2009-01-31
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Craven Cottage
  • Attendance:23722
  • Referee:Wiley, A

Live Commentary

90mins

Fulham 3 Portsmouth 1: 2 Goals from substitute Erik Nevland heap misery on Tony Adams' charges and Fulham distance themselves from the relegation zone.

90mins

Fulham substitution: Dempsey replaced by Zoltan Gera.

90mins

Fulham look to break with Johnson but James comes out to clear.

90mins

There will be 3 minutes of added time at Craven Cottage.

89mins

Andrew Johnson crosses into the Portsmouth area and Glen Johnson's header back to James has the Portsmouth keeper scrambling for a moment.

88mins

Good play from Fulham. Ball into the box from Davies, but saved by James.

87mins

Utaka puts the ball into the box and fins Crouch. Crouch spins and shoots, but can't get the power in his shot.

85mins

Good inter-play between Crouch and Nugent but Fulham steal the ball away and counter.

84mins

Utaka is sent through by Johnson but Schwarzer gets down to save. The linesman's flag goes up and Fulham receive a free-kick.

82mins

Fulham 3 Portsmouth 1: Free-kick into the Fulham area from Pennant and Nugent has pounced to reduce the arrears.

82mins

Free-kick to Portsmouth on the edge of the Fulham penalty area after a foul on Pennant.

78mins

Fulham 3 Portsmouth 0: Nevland has bagged himself a second goal and the game is dead and buried for Portsmouth. It was a right footed shot from the edge of the area which found the bottom corner and James is beaten again.

78mins

Foul on Davies by Hreidarsson and Fulham get a free-kick inside the Portsmouth half.

76mins

All three substitutions now made by Tony Adams, but it's not looking like Portsmouth will get anything from this afternoon.

75mins

Portsmouth substitution: Kaboul off for the visitors. Pamarot replaces him.

73mins

Johnson gets the wrong side of Distin but his effort is blocked.

71mins

Fulham 2 Portsmouth 0: Portsmouth offside trap fails and Nevland is put through on James' goal. James was left in no man's land and the Fulham substitute doubles the hone side's lead.

70mins

Back-to-back corners for Portsmouth. Ball into the near post from Pennant, but cleared for a throw-in to Portsmouth.

68mins

Long ball over the top to Nugent. His cross finds Crouch but Pantsil gets back in the nick of time to nick the ball away from the Portsmouth striker.

66mins

Half-volley from Utaka, right-footed, by wide and out for a goal-kick to Fulham.

65mins

Nevland takes on Kaboul, but Kaboul is too quick for the Fulham man and wins possession for Portsmouth.

63mins

Portsmouth substitution: As suspected, Traore leaves the field and is replaced by Utaka.

63mins

Fulham substitution: Nevland on for Zamora.

63mins

It looks like Utaka is going to come on for Portsmouth. It could be Traore the man to be replaced as he looks devoid of confidence.

61mins

A chance for Fulham on the break. Zamora gets away from the Portsmouth defence but he dwells on the ball and the chance is gone. Corner to Fulham.

60mins

Fulham mount their first attack of the half, but Pennant dispossesses Konchesky and the linesman's flag has gone up for an offside against the Fulham man.

58mins

Nugent harrassing the Fulham defenders well and he's forced a throw-in deep in the Fulham half. He's made a big difference for Portsmouth so far in this second half.

56mins

Another corner to Portsmouth. Big pressure for Fulham to weather.

54mins

Fulham struggling to get a touch of the ball. Long ball forward goes through to James and Portsmouth pick up possession again.

52mins

Corner to Portsmouth taken by Pennant. Header from the Portsmouth captain Distin but wide of Schwarzer's goal.

51mins

Another claim for a penalty from Portsmouth. Crouch goes down in the area. Pantsil is involved again, but no foul given.

50mins

Big penalty claim for Portsmouth turned down by Alan Wiley. Flick on by Crouch to Nugent. Nugent goes down under a challenge from Pantsil but Alan Wiley waves away the Portsmouth appeals.

47mins

Shot from Hreidarsson but the ball goes wide of the Fulham goal. A bright start to the half again for Portsmouth.

47mins

Free kick to Portsmouth for a foul on Johnson by Hangeland a yard outside of the penalty area on the right hand side.

46mins

The second half has kicked off. Kanu has been replaced by David Nugent for Portsmouth. No changes for Fulham.

45mins

On the other hand, Tony Adams will need to raise his players who, apart from Kaboul's header which struck the crossbar, have looked short on ideas. We've already seen Utaka and Nugent warming up and there could be changes coming soon.

45mins

Roy Hodgson will no doubt be happy with his side's first half performance. Fulham have looked the better side since taking the lead in the 15th minute.

45mins

Half-time: Fulham 1 Portsmouth 0. Portsmouth started promisingly but like their game in midweek against Aston Villa they've created very little going forward. Fulham have grown since the goal and are good value for their half-time lead.

45mins

There will be just 1 minute of added time in the fisrt half and Fulham look like they'll go in at half time leading by Andrew Johnson's goal.

44mins

Throw-in to Portsmouth deep inside Fulham's half. Ball is sent into the box, but Crouch is penalised for climbing on his marker to reach the header.

43mins

Fulham threaten again. Dempsey plays the ball into Zamora in the box, but it's offside and Portsmouth have a free-kick.

42mins

Ball into the box from Davies and Johnson goes down in the area, but no foul and Portsmouth clear the danger.

41mins

Ball into the Portsmouth box by Zamora, but claimed by James.

39mins

Ball comes in from the corner and Kaboul has been denied a headed equaliser by the crossbar.

39mins

Portsmouth having a sustained spell of pressure. Another corner to Portsmouth.

38mins

Looping effort from Davis, but Schwarzer turns the ball over the Fulham crossbar for another corner.

37mins

Mistake by Pantsil and Portsmouth force a corner on the left hand side.

36mins

Portsmouth win a couple of throw-ins in the Fulham half but they're showing little going forward since the Fulham goal.

33mins

Fulham getting well on top. Johnson sent through on goal. He shoots low to James' left but James saves with his foot. It could have easily been 2-0.

32mins

Good play from Zamora. He gets the ball to Pantsil and his cross flashes across the Portsmouth penalty area.

31mins

Mullins is cautioned for a foul on Dempsey.

30mins

Ball played back by Kanu to Davis, but the ball is nicked away by Davies and Fulham counter.

28mins

Half chance for Portsmouth. Kanu holds the ball up in the area. Shot from Mullins, but deflected away.

27mins

Throw in to Portsmouth 25 yards out from goal. Ball thrown in by Hreidarsson. Ball played back to him but his cross goes safely into the arms of Schwarzer.

26mins

Neat play from Fulham on the edge of the Portsmouth box. Fulham are starting to grow in confidence since the goal.

25mins

Crouch plays the ball wide to Traore, but Pantsil dispossesses him and Fulham bring the ball forward.

23mins

Pennant gets up gingerly from a challenge from Konchesky and this would be a worry for Portsmouth as he has been one of their brighter players.

22mins

Zamora fires the ball across the box, but the linesman has flagged for offside.

21mins

Pennant runs at the Fulham defence but is shown inside and the attack comes to nothing.

20mins

Johnson crosses into the box, Davis hits the ball first time on the bounce but Schwarzer gets down low to save.

17mins

Nugent and Utaka out warming up for Portsmouth.

16mins

First corner of the game for Portsmouth but comes to nothing.

15mins

Fulham 1 Portsmouth 0: Johnson gambles in behind the Portsmouth defence and slots past James to give Fulham the lead.

11mins

The game is starting to settle into a rhythm, with Fulham enjoying a little more possession, but still no chances to report.

7mins

Ball into the box by Glen Johnson too high for Crouch. It comes off the top of Crouch's head and out for a Fulham goal kick.

6mins

First corner of the game to Fulham.

5mins

Portsmouth have started brightly with the lion's share of the possession in the opening 5 mins.

3mins

Pennant beat Konchesky down the right hand side but Kanu misses his attempted shot in the area.

1mins

Referee Alan Wiley has got this game underway. Fulham are unchanged from their game with Sunderland in midweek. Portsmouth have 2 changes, with Campbell (hip) and Belhadj (suspension) making way for Kaboul and Traore.

0mins

Portsmouth Line-up: James, Johnson, Kaboul, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Davis, Mullins, Armand Traore, Kanu, Crouch

0mins

Fulham Line-up: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Etuhu, Murphy, Davies, Zamora, Johnson

Match Preview

Fulham and Portsmouth head into Saturday's clash at Craven Cottage on the back of midweek defeats at the hands of Sunderland and Aston Villa respectively.

Despite the Cottagers sitting pretty in mid-table with a game in hand over eighth-placed West Ham, Roy Hodgson's side have gone over a month without a Premier League victory, with the last coming in the shape of a 3-0 dispatch of out-of-sorts Middlesbrough before Christmas.

Hodgson's squad is largely injury-free, with just Diomansy Kamara set to miss out with a knee injury which is likely to keep him sidelined over the coming weeks.

Tony Adams' Portsmouth side cannot seem to shake the problems that hang over their heads as they begin to flirt with the relegation dogfight.

Pompey lie in 14th place but are dangerously close to the foot of the table. Bottom side West Bromwich Albion trail the Fratton Park outfit by just three points, a statistic that Adams will want to eradicate quickly.

It appears as though the club are still coming to terms with the departures of Sulley Muntari, Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe, but most of all, the loss of former manager Harry Redknapp.

Adams has moved to strengthen his side following the loss of over £40million-worth of talent, acquiring Jermaine Pennant from Liverpool, Hayden Mullins from West Ham and Pele from FC Porto.

It would appear as though the loss of key players is hurting Adams, as a decent performance against Villa was of no consolation to a team who looked as though they could not buy a goal.


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Match Report

Goals from Andy Johnson and an Erik Nevland brace helped Fulham beat Portsmouth 3-1 at Craven Cottage to leave the visitors firmly entrenched in the relegation mire.

Tony Adams' side have won just one of their last 11 matches and taken one point from their last seven games, and appear destined to be involved in a battle to avoid the drop just a year after winning the FA Cup.

But Fulham will be satisfied to have got their campaign back on track as they won in the league for the first time in 2009 as they moved back into the top half of the table.

And in a tight game of few chances it was two calm finishes from their strikers that made the difference for Roy Hodgson's side, although it could have been so different if Alan Wiley had awarded Portsmouth a certain penalty for a foul by John Paintsil on David Nugent with the score at 1-0.

The day had started well enough for the hosts as they paraded Giles Barnes on the pitch before the game, the Derby man having joined on loan as a replacement for Jimmy Bullard, who was sold to Hull last week.

And Fulham could not have wished for a better start as they hit the front just 15 minutes in.

Portsmouth captain Sylvain Distin was the man at fault as he stood three yards behind his fellow defenders, allowing Johnson to race clear onto Clint Dempsey's throughball and slide his shot past David James for his eighth of the season.

Portsmouth began to come into the game as the half progressed, and the visitors came within inches of getting back on level terms five minutes before the break when Younes Kaboul smashed a header against the bar from Jermaine Pennant's corner.

Adams made his move at half-time, bringing on Nugent for Kanu, and it should have paid dividends just five minutes after the break as the visitors were denied a cast-iron penalty.

It appeared obvious to everyone inside Craven Cottage that Paintsil had brought down the striker, but Wiley somehow decided the tackle was legitimate.

The away fans abused the referee, and their Fulham counterparts vented their anger at the shot-shy Bobby Zamora, who was replaced by Nevland with an hour gone - and the replacement immediately made the game safe, running through the Portsmouth defence and delicately curling the ball past James with the outside of his foot and into the far corner.

And he grabbed his second with time running out as he swivelled and scored from 12 yards, before Portsmouth grabbed a consolation through Nugent, who was left unmarked to meet Pennant's free-kick.

But that strike counted for little, and Adams must be fearing for his job, having taken just 11 points from his 15 league games in charge.

Fulham

Portsmouth

Corners

58

Fouls

98

Goal attempts

612

Shots off target

05

Offsides

84

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