Source: Northern_Echo
Black Cats held to goalless draw at Fulham
SUNDERLAND were forced to settle for a point in a keenly-contested, but ultimately disappointing goalless draw with Fulham.[LNB] In a match of precious few chances, the Black Cats dominated the opening period without really testing goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.[LNB] Fulham were the better side after the break, but save for an Andy Johnson shot that was saved by Simon Mignolet, the hosts never really looked like claiming all three points.[LNB] The draw was Sunderland's ninth in 17 league games, and keeps Steve Bruce's side comfortably in the top half of the table.[LNB] Injuries to Craig Gordon and Asamoah Gyan forced Steve Bruce to make two changes to the side that beat West Ham last weekend, with Mignolet returning between the sticks and David Meyler making his first appearance since rupturing his cruciate ligaments in the penultimate game of last season in midfield.[LNB] There was a further setback within the opening ten minutes, with Anton Ferdinand hobbling off clutching his hamstring. With Titus Bramble and Michael Turner also injured, and Paulo Da Silva out of favour, Sunderland are rapidly running out of centre-halves.[LNB] Not that they needed any in the first half, with both sides struggling to create goalscoring opportunities.[LNB] Clint Dempsey forced Mignolet into a routine save early on, but it was the 35th minute until Fulham troubled the Belgian again, with Carlos Salcido firing in a tame long-range effort.[LNB] Sunderland weren't much better, but Darren Bent should perhaps have done better with a 37th-minute header he directed wide of the target.[LNB] Danny Welbeck at least threatened to find the target with a first-time effort from a Jordan Henderson pull-back, but Fulham full-back John Pantsil blocked his shot.[LNB] Gyan arrived within seven minutes of the interval, replacing Meyler, but Dempsey fashioned the first chance of the second half, narrowly failing to chip Mignolet from the left-hand corner of the box.[LNB] The American was Fulham's liveliest attacker throughout, and his 58th-minute cross enabled former Sunderland midfielder Dickson Etuhu to beat Mignolet to the ball.[LNB] Etuhu's header was looping in, but a back-tracking Phil Barsdley had plenty of time in which to head clear from his own goalline.[LNB] Fulham were the better side for much of the second half, and Mignolet was forced to produce an excellent 69th-minute save to keep the scoresheet blank.[LNB] Zoltan Gera headed on Simon Davies corner, substitute Andy Johnson swivelled and shot from six yards, but Mignolet made an excellent save tumbling to his left.[LNB] Sunderland's best chance of the second half came with seven minutes left, but after picking the ball up from Kieran Richardson, substitute Bolo Zenden flashed a long-range strike just past the right-hand post.[LNB] [LNB] FULHAM (4-3-3): Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido (Baird 72); Davies, Murphy, Etuhu (E Johnson 72); Gera, Kamara (A Johnson 46), Dempsey.[LNB] Subs (not used): Stockdale (gk), Kelly, Greening, Duff.[LNB] [LNB] SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Mignolet; Onuoha, Ferdinand (Elmohamady 10), Mensah, Bardsley; Henderson, Cattermole, Meyler (Gyan 53), Richardson; Welbeck (Zenden 78), Bent.[LNB] Subs (not used): Gordon (gk), Angeleri, Da Silva, Malbranque.[LNB]
