Wigan 0 Fulham 0: Injuries and concerns mount for Bruce

08 February 2009 01:03
Bobby Zamora was guilty of a shocking miss which cost Fulham[LNB]their first Premier League away win while Wigan[LNB]showed they are not yet ready to take Europe by storm.[LNB]Steve Bruce's side, hoping for a UEFA Cup run next season, struggled to break down a stubborn defence during a miserable encounter at the JJB Stadium. Fulham would have won but for Zamora's amazing firsthalf miss, which was as poor as the game itself. Unmarked inside the six-yard area, Zamora, with only two goals to his name this season, managed to head Brede Hangeland's flick over the bar six minutes before half-time.[LNB] Watch it: Frustrtaed Wigan boss Steve Bruce keeps his eye on the clock[LNB] Wigan v Fulham: How the game unfolded[LNB]WIGAN NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]FULHAM NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough[LNB]Blackburn 0-2 A Villa[LNB]Chelsea 0-0 Hull[LNB]Everton 3-0 Bolton[LNB]Sunderland 2-0 Stoke[LNB]West Brom 2-3 Newcastle[LNB] 'Bobby needs a goal, there's no doubt about that,' said Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. 'We're always happy when we don't lose, but on Monday we'll look back and view this as a golden opportunity lost when we could have broken our away duck.'[LNB]Zamora's miss was a big let-off for lacklustre Wigan, who lost Mido, Antonio Valencia and Michael Brown to illness and injury before half-time. Bruce's side have gone five games without a league win, and the Wigan manager took full responsibility after his gamble to risk three key players backfired on him.[LNB] New boy: Wigan midfielder Charles N'Zogbia takes on Simon Davies of Fulham[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]'I decided to play Brown even though he was sick before the game, while Mido had not trained for two days because of a groin problem, and it looked like it,' said Bruce.[LNB]'Valencia has been struggling with a hamstring and playing him has probably set him back two or three weeks. I take full responsibility. I'll take it on board and learn from it.'[LNB] Canny Danny: Murphy holds off a challenge from Lee Cattermole of Wigan[LNB] [LNB]While Wigan have now managed just one goal in seven-and-a-half hours, Fulham have scored only three times away from Craven Cottage in the Premier League. Wigan also included Charles N'Zogbia, their record £6million signing from Newcastle, but the Frenchman made a low-key debut.[LNB]WIGAN (4-4-2): Kirkland; Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa; Valencia (Watson 18min), Cattermole, Brown (Koumas 19), N'Zogbia; Rodallega, Mido (Zaki 42). Subs (not used): Pollitt, Boyce, Edman, De Ridder. Booked: Figueroa.[LNB]FULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Dempsey, Etuhu (Dacourt 45), Murphy, Dempsey (Gera 90); Zamora (Nevland 75), Johnson. Subs (not used): Zuberbuhler, Stoor, Kallio, Gray. [LNB]Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire[LNB] Wigan v Fulham: How the game unfolded[LNB]WIGAN NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]FULHAM NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough[LNB]Blackburn 0-2 A Villa[LNB]Chelsea 0-0 Hull[LNB]Everton 3-0 Bolton[LNB]Sunderland 2-0 Stoke[LNB]West Brom 2-3 Newcastle[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail