Fulham 0 Everton 0: match report

Although tight games sometimes turn on a piece of sublime skill, more often they are decided by outrageous fortune. After this humdrum, uneventful display, we would happily have settled for either. Not that this was a terrible game. Great battles abounded all over the field: Marouane Fellaini against Danny Murphy; the dashing Seamus Coleman against the shrewd Carlos Salcido; the tireless Tim Cahill against the towering Brede Hangeland. There were chances, too - several to each side - but ultimately, what was missing was a flash of inspiration to illuminate this watery afternoon by the Thames. Paradoxically, a draw suited the still-unbeaten home side more than it did David Moyes's visitors, who still have no wins and an embarrassing cup exit to show for their labours this season. Fulham, meanwhile, can revel in the fact that they have maintained their unbeaten start to the season on the same day that their west London neighbours were relieved of theirs. It was Everton, though, who made the early running. Steven Pienaar had their first chance, latching on to a knock-down by Cahill and firing straight at Mark Schwarzer. Cahill's neat flick then almost put Yakubu through on goal, and in sliding to deny him, right-back Stephen Kelly injured himself sliding to stop him. Yet for all Everton's industry, here was a team still unsure of itself, unaware of where its next goal was coming from, routinely taking three touches when only two were required. As a result, they were unable to rock Fulham with a counter-attack or deflate them with a string of chances. The game took more than half an hour to come to life, and when it did, it was Fulham who came closest. On the stroke of half time, a soaring Dickson Etuhu squandered the best chance of the half. An excellent, early Salcido cross surprised the Everton defence, and deserved better than Etuhu's tame header at Tim Howard. At the other end, Mikel Arteta fired in a wicked dipping shot from distance, and a flying Schwarzer did superbly to tip it around the post. Mark Hughes replaced Zoltan Gera with Eddie Johnson in the second half. It was an attempt to add some ballast in the final third, and for a while it threatened to pay off. Clint Dempsey rifled a shot straight at Howard when it almost seemed easier to score, while Damien Duff's follow-up evaded both the far post and the encroaching Salcido. Still both sides pressed, yet still half-chances were all that either side could fashion. Arteta went just over from distance. Yakubu shot wide. Simon Davies missed his kick when presented with a golden opportunity from 18 yards. Yakubu's fierce low drive from 20 yards was incompletely saved by Schwarzer, and Chris Baird, Kelly's replacement, scraped the ball away from his own goalmouth a fraction of a second before Leon Osman could pounce. As normal time leaked into injury time, Yakubu threatened to quicken the pulse once more, slapping a volley just wide and then losing his balance from six yards. By this stage, though, it was becoming clear that fate had decided to give Craven Cottage a miss. By the time Howard Webb blew for full-time, some fans were long gone, having streamed through the exits to beat the traffic. It was they, on reflection, who were the fortunate ones.

Source: Telegraph