football.co.uk web
skip to content
That's the final whistle and is has to be said that Fulham didn't do anywhere near enough to warrant a draw. West Brom deserved it.
Andreasen is booked for a clumsy challenge on Robinson - that was a sign of Fulham's frustration.
Corner for West Brom is taken by Greening and although it is easily cleared by Fulham, it means vital seconds are being wasted by the home side.
Seol breaks down the left hand side and does really well to get a cross into the box, but it goes just behind Davies. It doesn't seem like Fulham's day today.
Should West Brom manage to hold onto their lead, it will mean they have recored 100 points in their Premier League history.
Leon Andreasen replaces Murphy in the final change for Fulham.
Fulham give the ball away yet again and this time Bednar picks up the loose ball before firing a long range effort towards goal - it goes just over the bar though.
Gera produces a dangerous cross from the left hand side, but it just avades Seol who was waiting at the back post.
Time is running out for Fulham now - they need a moment of brilliance from the likes of Bullard or Murphy if they are to equalise.
Cech finds Bednar down the left hand side but one again Hughes does well to bring an end to the attack. Fulham have always looked solid at the back - they just can't score!
Hodgson makes a change as Paintsil is replaced by Fredrik Stoor - can he make the difference?
Fulham give the ball away allowing Moore who watches on as his attempt is comfortably saved by Schwarzer. Sloppy play from the away side though.
The hard-working Morrison is replaced by Marek Cech.
Fulham are getting more of the ball now, but their neat passing move doesn't result in anything as Paintsil's cross goes flying out for a goal-kick.
Corner to Fulham from the left hand side is too deep and goes through everybody. At this stage of the game, Fulham must make the most of these set pieces.
Morrison's shot is deflected into the path of Robert Koren who forces another good save from Schwarzer. He is keeping Fulham in this.
Seol has been very lively since coming on - he is providing the West Brom defenders with something else to think about.
Corner to Fulham is taken by Bullard and although it is headed clear, it falls to Seol who works the ball onto his right foot before firing a shot wide of the post. Decent effort from the sub.
A long ball forward from West Brom looking for Bednar is over hit and goes out of play as the home crowd go rather quiet. They must be nervous.
Fulham make a change as Zamora is replaced by Ki-Hyeon Seol. Maybe this can make the difference for the away side.
A rare Fulham attack sees Bullard chipping the ball into the path of Dempsey who can only watch as his header goes wide. He had more time than he thought.
Free kick taken by Greening is swung into the box and falls to Bednar at the edge of the box who forces a superb save by Schwarzer. That way nearly 2-0.
All the games Fulham have lost this season have been by one goal - that must really frustrate Hodgson.
Murphy gives the ball away at the edge of the Fulham penalty area, but thanks to an excellent block from Hangeland - he gets away with it.
West Brom's confidence is growing all the time since the goal and Fulham need to get themselves back into the game soon.
Bednar scrambles his way into the Fulham penalty area, but before he can get a shot towards goal, Hughes gets the ball away.
West Brom make their first change of the game as Miller replaces Luke Moore.
Fulham almost get straight back on level terms, but Murphy's effort is well saved by Carson. Maybe that goal will spark the game into life.
WEST BROM 1-0 FULHAM. Another corner for the home side falls to the feet of BEDNAR who scores from close range.
The resulting corner is headed off the line by Murphy from a Donk header.
Valero dinks the ball into the path of Bednar, but Fulham manage to get the ball away and concede a corner.
Free kick to West Brom after a Dempsey foul is taken by Greening and it eventually falls to Miller who loses it to the ever impressive Hughes.
West Brom go straight down the other end as Zuiverloon's dangerous cross is fumbled by Schwarzer before it is cleared away by Hughes.
Davies finds Bullard 35-yards from goal and the England midfielder does well to get a shot away, but it is high, wide and not particularly handsome.
Paintsil loses the ball to Robinson before he bursts down the left hand side and fires a cross towards Bednar who heads wide. Good play from Robinson.
The conditions are getting more and more difficult at the Hawthorns - the wind and rain is very significant.
Free kick taken by Greening is driven in low and although Konchesky gets it away, the ball falls to Gianni Zuiverloon who fires a shot against Dempsey.
Bullard's excellent cross from distance is headed towards goal by Zamora, but there wasn't quite enough power on it to test Carson too much.
Fulham will certainly fancy their chances of getting at least one goal today - West Brom have failed to keep a clean sheet at home so far this season.
West Brom play the ball through to Morrison on the left hand side, but Hangeland stands firm and doesn't let the former Middlesbrough manager past him.
Davies intercepts the ball from a Carson clearance, but just as he gets himself in a good position to cross he loses the ball and the move breaks down.
Early corner for West Brom is taken by Greening, but is headed away by Davies before the next cross into the box finds the head of Donk who clips the post with his effort.
Both managers would have demanded more from their side at the break and now it's time to find out whether they had the desired affect.
The second half is underway with both sides looking to break the deadlock in a game where one goal might be enough for the three points.
That's the half time whistle after an opening 45 minutes where neither side came too close to scoring.
A low and powerful Robinson cross from the left hand side is dangerous, but Hughes does brilliantly to intercept and end any chance of a West Brom goal.
Cross from the left hand side by Paul Konchesky is poor and easily cleared by Ryan Donk. That was very wasteful from the full back.
Zamora attempts to run through the West Brom defence and does well to get the ball under control, but eventually he handles it and gives away a free kick. He wasn't happy with that.
Tony Mowbray will be happy for the half time whistle to go - Fulham have had a lot of the ball in the last few minutes.
Dempsey has another attempt on goal and again Carson has to go down to his right to make a decent dave. Dempsey did well to get a shot away there.
Bullard loses the ball in midfield and West Brom charge forward before Robinson's cross is headed wide by Miller from 10 yards. He was offside anyway, but should have hit the target from there.
Fulham are increasing the pressure on the West Brom defence. This time, Dempsey has a shot blocked before Murphy tries his luck from long range. Nothing comes of it though.
West Brom have a great chance to get a cross into the box, but Greening's corner is awful and fails to beat the first defender. What a waste.
Davies finds Bulalrd just outside the penalty area and not for the first time today, Carson makes a comfortable save.
Fulham break forward once again but after he did well to get in a decent position, Zamora's cross beats everyone and goes out for a throw in.
Iglesias Borja Valero is booked for a foul on Davies.
Corner to West Brom from the left hand side is taken by Greening, but Gera does well to complete the clearance after Hughes' header away.
That was the closest either side has come to scoring so far and is was almost a goal for Gera against his former club.
Fulham go straight down the other end and nearly take the lead. Excellent run by Dempsey results in the ball falling to Gera, but his effort goes just wide of the post.
Miller does well down the right hand side to see of the challenges of Bullard and Paintsil but his cross is claimed by Schwarzer.
Zamora and Gera exchange passes before the latter's cross into the penalty area fails to find a Fulham player. Better from the away side though.
If Fulham win this game today, it will be their first victory away to West Brom in a top flight fixture since 1960.
Bednar wins a corner for West Brom and it is whipped in by Greening, but Miller fouls his marker and the move breaks down. That's frustrating for the home side.
This time it is Ishmael Miller who is caught offside for the home side. The play in the final third is letting down both teams so far.
Paintsil gives the ball away to Morrison, but luckily for the defender, the ball finds Bednar in an offside position.
A quickly taken Murphy free-kick finds the feet of Dempsey, but the American striker can't force a save from Carson and the ball goes wide.
Fulham are playing some decent football going forward, but they aren't really getting anywhere. West Brom are closing them down every single time.
West Brom seem more likely to open the scoring now as Paul Robinson's dangerous cross from the left hand side is well dealt with by Schwarzer.
With 20 minutes now gone, it has to be said that neither side has had too many decent opportunites as yet - it has been a very even game.
That was excellent play by Greening and the first piece of real quality from the home side.
Jonathan Greening wins the ball off Bullard and beats two Fulham defenders before his pass across goal is crucially blocked by Hughes.
The West Brom strikers aren't holding the ball up well enough at the moment, every time they get the ball forward it is coming straight back.
The resulting free kick is taken by Bullard and despite it being a well struck effort, the ball goes just over the bar and fails to test Carson.
Jonas Olsson is booked for bringing down Dempsey as the striker tried to burst into the box.
A victory for West Brom today would ensure that they have made their best ever start to a Premier League season.
The ball falls to Dempsey just outside the area and his ambitious effort forces a decent save from Carson, but never really looked like going in.
The rain is hammering down at the Hawthorns and it is starting to have a negative effect on the quality of football being played.
James Morrison bursts down the left hand side for West Brom as they start to settle down, but Aaron Hughes does well to prevent him getting a cross into the box.
Gianni Zuiverloon comes forward from right back for the home side, but his early cross is easily headed away by Brede Hangeland. Good attacking intent from the right back though.
West Brom win the ball off Zamora and launch their first attack of the game which results in Roman Bednar firing a weak shot into the arms of Schwarzer.
Danny Murphy wins the ball for his side who look to break forward again. Dempsey fouls his defender though and the move breaks down. West Brom haven't started yet.
Fulham have started on top as a Bullard corner is punched away by Scott Carson. There is no doubt Fulham look the more confident though.
Neat football from the away side results in Jimmy Bullard's pass just avading Paul Konchesky on the left hand side before the attack becomes dangerous.
Dempsey gets the ball off John Paintsil for his first touch of the game, but the striker fails to get it under control and West Brom win back possession. Dempsey will have to do better than that.
Early free kick for the home side is whipped into the box, but Mark Schwarzer manages to punch the ball away.
Fulham are having to do without the suspended Andrew Johnson today, with Clint Dempsey taking his place alongside Bobby Zamora.
West Brom should be confident of avoiding defeat today - they have never lost at home to Fulham in the Premier League.
They are under way at the Hawthorns with West Brom searching for back-to-back victories against a Fulham side who have yet to register a point away from home.
Roman Bednar fired West Bromwich Albion to a second successive victory as Fulham's dismal run continued. Bednar's third goal of the season - but his first from open play - in the 61st minute sentenced Fulham to a fourth straight defeat. It also extended their poor record on the road as they have lost all three of their Premier League games away from Craven Cottage. Had they been more clinical in front of goal in the first half then things could have been a lot different for Roy Hodgson's side. But Albion proved more of a threat after the break and their margin of victory would have been greater but for the Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. He pulled off impressive saves from Bednar and Robert Koren, but by then the damage had been done. Bednar's goal made amends for an early miss as he wasted a golden chance to hand Albion the initiative after just eight minutes. Skipper Jonathan Greening won a midfield battle and fed a pinpoint pass into the path of Bednar, but he took too long over his shot and his tame left foot drive was comfortably collected by Schwarzer. While Albion may have enjoyed the greater possession, it was Fulham who carried the threat and they should really have turned that into a healthy advantage. But their finishing left something to be desired with the lively Clint Dempsey being denied by Scott Carson in the 13th minute, before Jimmy Bullard fired a 20-yard free-kick just over the bar two minutes later. Albion struggled to keep Dempsey in check and he was again close to breaking the deadlock from long range in the 23rd minute, before turning provider for Albion old boy Zoltan Gera. Gera, on his first return to The Hawthorns since leaving in the summer, was teed up just inside the area by Dempsey but saw his low drive flash just wide with Carson well beaten. Fulham were to rue their failings in front of goal as Albion added menace to their play in the second period. Ryan Donk crashed his close-range header against the post from a 47th minute Jonathan Greening corner and it was a warning Fulham should have heeded. When James Morrison's header was cleared off the line by Danny Murphy, Greening delivered another corner that Fulham again failed to deal with. Once again the ball found its way to Donk and this time he rolled the ball across a crowded goalmouth and into the path of Bednar, who made no mistake from six yards. Fulham, who saw Murphy fire just wide as they went in search of an equaliser, were fortunate not to fall further behind in the 69th minute when only a stunning save by Schwarzer kept them in contention. Koren's right-wing cross was deflected goal wards by Bednar from just six yards only for Schwarzer to instinctively deflect the ball away. Schwarzer then denied Koren low at his near post before Bednar saw his 86th minute drive from 30 yards crash off the bar.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
advertisement
football.co.uk