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  • Date:2008-10-18
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Craven Cottage
  • Attendance:25116
  • Referee:Stroud, K

Live Commentary

90mins

FULL TIME: Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland - Neither side managed to break the deadlock but the game was anything but a bore draw as both sides played open and attacking football.

90mins

Fulham have a free-kick in a very dangerous position. Bullard stands over it but he doesn't make the most of the opportunity as he sends the ball straight into the wall.

89mins

The fourth official indicates two minutes of added time

86mins

Worrying signs for Fulham as Murphy bursts in the box but he tries to do too much and eventually loses his footing and Fulham pick up the ball.

84mins

Cisse has come close on a couple of opportunities today but he is brought off with six minutes to go for Daryl Murphy

82mins

Bullard swings a corner into the box and Hangeland climbs above everyone but in the end the ball bounces off his shoulder and doesn't trouble Gordon.

80mins

It looks set to be a hectic last ten minutes as both sides try to break the deadlock, though at the moment Sunderland look the most likely out of the two teams.

78mins

Reid curls a left-footed shot goal-wards and Schwarzer is at full stretch as he turns the ball around the post.

76mins

Fulham strike lucky again as Cisse smashes a volley goal-wards and sees it cannon back off the crossbar.

73mins

Zoltan Gera makes way for Clint Dempsey

70mins

Healy makes an immediate impact as he wins a free-kick for his side in a decent position, but Andy Reid fails to pick out a team-mate from the set piece and Fulham clear their lines.

68mins

Roy Keane introduces another fresh pair of legs as David Healy replaces Michael Chopra.

66mins

Gordon parries the ball away and Konchesky puts it back into the box looking for a team-mate with the keeper stranded. Zamora looks to latch onto it with an open goal but Gordon dives onto the ball at the second attempt to snuff out the opportunity.

64mins

Simon Davies gets a snap shot away from just outside the box but he slices it wide of the target, a decent effort though from the midfielder.

61mins

Bullard gets another shot away from distance but this time the ball sails over the crossbar and doesn't trouble Gordon.

61mins

Roy Keane makes the first change of the game as Andy Reid comes on for Grant Leadbitter

59mins

Bullard finds space for a shot out of nothing and forces a save out of Gordon. Thats the best we've seen from Bullard today and Fulham will be hoping to see more of that in this second-half.

57mins

Zamora picks out Gera who is open in the box but his header is straight at Gordon. Had he put it either side of the keeper he would surely have buried the chance from close range.

56mins

Sunderland are furious with the referee and it seems they are right to be as there didn't seem to be much wrong with any of the Sunderland players in the box.

55mins

Danny Murphy gives away a free-kick in a good position and is cautioned for the foul on Whitehead.

55mins

Richardson finds the net with a curling free-kick and Sunderland celebrate the goal, but the referee blows his whistle for a Fulham free-kick for an occurrence inside the box.

53mins

Schwarzer punches away a Cisse shot but only as far as Richardson who lobs the ball over the head of the keeper but Hughes heads the ball off the line.

51mins

A Cisse free-kick deflects off Paintsil and finds Whitehead in a dangerous position but his shot smashes into the side netting.

49mins

Johnson tries to get a cross into the box and Richardson blocks it seemingly with his hand but the referee waves play on and Sunderland regain possession.

47mins

Cisse puts the ball across the face of goal looking for a team-mate but Aaron Hughes gets across well to knock the ball behind for a corner.

45mins

Sunderland start the second-half and both sides remain unchanged

45mins

HALF TIME: Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland - Both sides have been knocking at the door in a lively and even first -half, but they go in level at the break and surely goals will come in the second period.

45mins

Gera comes close with a diving header but again fails to really trouble Craig Gordon.

43mins

Gera searches out Zamora with an inviting low cross and the striker just needs to get a touch on the ball and it will find the net, but it is just too far ahead of the striker and the ball rolls behind for a goal-kick.

41mins

Sunderland win a dubious free-kick in a dangerous position. Richardson takes it and forces a fine save out of Schwarzer before the ball bounces off each post and comes back out. That's the closest anyone can come without the ball crossing the line!

39mins

Jimmy Bullard finds Brede Hangeland with a corner but the defender directs his header wide of the target.

37mins

Steed Malbranque picks up the first booking of the game after a late challenge on Paul Konchesky

36mins

Roy Hodgson is shouting out instructions to his side on the edge of his technical area. He will be desperate for a win today as his side have suffered four straight defeats including a Carling Cup fixture at Burnley.

34mins

Sunderland put together a wonderful passing move which results in an acrobatic bicycle-kick from Chopra that fails to trouble Schwarzer.

32mins

A Fulham corner causes all sorts of problems in the box as Johnson and Gera both have shots blocked and deflected inside the Sunderland penalty area.

30mins

Paintsil reaches the byline after leaving George McCartney for dead but the Sunderland defender gets back in time to put Paintsil off and his delivery is poor.

28mins

The game has taken a very slow tempo over the last few minutes and both sides seem happy enough just to keep the ball.

26mins

Fulham appeal for a handball as the ball seemed to ricochet off the hand of Dean Whitehead in a very dangerous position just outside the box but the referee waves away the protests.

23mins

Gera puts a low cross into the box and picks out Bobby Zamora who turns and shoots, but his effort is blocked by a Sunderland defender.

21mins

Cisse strikes a vicious shot from the corner of the box and it whistles past the far post to the relief of Schwarzer who was rooted to the spot.

19mins

Gera has been in good form for Fulham this season with four goals, but he doesn't seem to have his shooting boots on today!

17mins

A golden opportunity for Fulham as Andy Johnson picks out Gera in the box, but the winger makes a mess of the opportunity and slices the ball wide of the target.

15mins

Michael Chopra tries to pick out Richardson who is in a good position in the box, but Paintsil reads the pass and clears danger for Fulham.

12mins

John Paintsil is seeing a lot of the ball on the right side for Fulham but he is unable to pick out a cutting edge pass at the moment.

10mins

Gera probably should have done better with that chance but it has brought the home crowd back alive inside Craven Cottage.

8mins

Zoltan Gera rounds the keeper but takes the ball too wide giving Sunderland defenders chance to get back and block his shot.

6mins

Sunderland have had the better of the opening stages of this game and are seeing plenty of the ball.

4mins

Kieran Richardson bursts down the left flank and forces another decent save out of Schwarzer with a low shot

2mins

Djibril Cisse gets an early shot away and Sunderland win the first corner of the game as Mark Schwarzer palms the ball around the post.

0mins

Referee Keith Stroud gets the game underway with Fulham kicking-off.

0mins

SUNDERLAND: Gordon, Chimbonda, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney, Malbranque, Leadbitter, Whitehead, Richardson, Cisse, Chopra. SUBS: Fulop, Bardsley, Tainio, Diouf, Murphy, Reid, Healy

0mins

FULHAM: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Bullard, Gera, Zamora, Johnson. SUBS: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Gray, Dempsey, Andreasen, Kallio, Baird

0mins

Two changes to the Sunderland side that drew with Arsenal last time out as Grant Leadbitter and Michael Chopra make the starting line-up in place of Dwight Yorke - who is ruled out - and Andy Reid, who drops to the bench.

0mins

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson makes one change to the side that lost at West Brom two weeks ago as summer signing Andy Johnson returns from a one match suspension.

Match Preview

A lack of goals is threatening to undermine Roy Hodgson's attempts to lift Fulham clear of relegation trouble this season as the Cottagers aim to end a three-match losing sequence by beating Sunderland this weekend.

Fulham have managed to find the net only five times in their first six league games of the campaign with no player yet to score more than once.

Andy Johnson is still to break his scoring duck for Hodgson's side in the last four games in all competitions, while Bobby Zamora, despite some encouraging displays, has only netted against Bolton Wanderers.

Every game Fulham have been involved in so far this term has been close and, while there have been no draws, their two wins and four defeats have all been by one-goal margins.

Unfortunately they have lost their last three matches - to Blackburn, West Ham and West Brom - by the odd goal and have slipped to 17th in the table.

At least Hodgson has few injuries to concern him as Diomansy Kamara (knee) is the only player currently in the Craven Cottage treatment room.

Meanwhile, Sunderland manager Roy Keane will be hoping to build on the excellent 1-1 draw at Arsenal two weeks ago when he returns to the capital.

The Black Cats appear to be a stronger outfit than the one that finished 15th last term, but they remain prone to some poor performances as they demonstrated by losing 3-0 to Manchester City at the Stadium of Light and struggling past League One side Northampton Town in the Carling Cup.

Keane looks set to once again be without Kenwyne Jones (knee), but Nyron Nosworthy is anticipated to return to action after recovering from a hamstring problem and may replace Danny Collins in the starting line-up.


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Match Report

Kieran Richardson and Zoltan Gera will be wondering how Sunderland's game with Fulham remained goalless, but for different reasons.

On the third anniversary of the late, great Johnny Haynes' death, Fulham unveiled a statue of the man described by Pele as the best passer of the ball he had ever seen.

And Fulham were badly in need of a Haynes like performance from someone, as Sunderland will feel hard done by that they are not travelling back to the North East with all three points.

Richardson went closest with two free-kicks, one that was harshly disallowed and another that managed to hit the post three times.

As for Fulham's Gera he had an afternoon to forget as he missed a hatful of clear-cut chances.

Sunderland started the brighter and looked the most dangerous. The French connection of Pascal Chimbonda, Djibril Cisse and former Fulham favourite Steed Malbranque were running the show in the opening exchanges.

For all of the dominance and pressure Sunderland put on Fulham, it was the hosts who had the first sniff at goal.

Hungarian Gera was played in by Jimmy Bullard from a quick free-kick and the midfielder seemed to do all the hard work by rounding Craig Gordon in the Sunderland goal, but he was unable to keep his shot on target.

If Gera thought that miss was bad, then his one just minutes later was even worse.

Andrew Johnson played a low cross across the penalty area from left-hand side, the ball seemed to be rolling perfectly to an unmarked Gera in the six-yard box, but he somehow managed to miss the ball completely.

Sunderland continued to pile on the pressure and both Cisse and Michael Chopra went close.

Cisse raced down the left-hand side and cut back only to fire his fierce shot wide of the far post.

Just after the half-hour mark Malbranque crossed for Chopra who was lingering in penalty area and his bicycle kick went just wide of Mark Schwarzer's right-hand post.

Then the most extraordinary moment of the match came in the 41st minute from a Richardson free-kick.

His curling effort seemed to have the Australian keeper beaten, but the ball hit the left-hand post and then the right-hand upright before fizzing across the goal-line and hit Schwarzer on the back and hitting the left-hand post for the second time.

Sunderland thought they had taken the lead ten minutes into the second half when Richardson again curled in a brilliant free-kick past Schwarzer, but referee Keith Stroud disallowed it for an infringement in the wall by Chimbonda.

Bullard then went close for Fulham with a powerful shot from the edge of the area after good work from Simon Davies, before Gera's nightmare afternoon in front of goal when he tamely headed into the arms of Gordon when he was unmarked from eight yards.

But it was Sunderland who looked the most likely to snatch a winner and they would have done through Cisse 15 minutes from time, if it had not have been for the crossbar.

Substitute David Healy knocked the ball for the Frenchman whose volley from 20 yards rattled off the horizontal.

The game ended goalless and for Roy Hodgson it should be seen as a point gained as they stopped the rot of four successive defeats, Roy Keane on the other hand will be cursing the woodwork as his side failed to win the game.

Fulham

Sunderland

Corners

85

Fouls

128

Goal attempts

1315

Shots off target

45

Offsides

14

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