Fulham mugged -
West Bromwich Albion 1 (0) Fulham 0 (0)
West Bromwich Albion broke their Premiership duck yesterday in the way that they won so many of their matches on the way up from the First Division last season, when they triumphed by the only goal on no fewer than 17 occasions. The man who brought them their first three points since promotion was defender Darren Moore, whose header early in the second half settled this frantic, ill-tempered and poorly refereed contest.
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Fulham midfielder Junichi Inamoto
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But the player who caught the eye most as the Baggies effectively started from scratch after the Premiership baptism from hell (Manchester United away, Leeds at home and Arsenal away) was striker Jason Roberts. His powerful performance overshadowed even the return of the native, Lee Hughes, and destroyed any euphoria in the Fulham camp after their InterToto Cup final victory over Bologna.
There was a great roar of approval from the Hawthorns when it was announced that Hughes, bought back from Coventry City for a club record fee of £2.5 million only the day before, would be playing. No wonder, either. The 'Ginger Ninja', as he is known affectionately in these parts, scored 78 goals in 156 League games in the four years he spent with Albion, his beloved local club, between 1997 and 2001.
There was no place in the starting line-up, though, for the other latest signing, midfielder Jason Koumas, purchased from Tranmere for £2.25 m. The Welsh international had to be satisfied with a seat on the substitutes' bench.
Hughes was the focal point of most of West Brom's early attacks. Only a minute had gone when he chested back Neil Clement's long ball for Lee Marshall to thunder a shot just over the crossbar. Then, in the 11th minute, the shaven-headed striker pulled a face as he saw his sweep shot on the run, from Igor Balis' low centre, deflected a foot wide of the far post. Hughes also drove the ball straight at Edwin van der Sar when Roberts' strength and skill made an opening for him.
Hughes was even the first player to be booked, though whether it was for dissent or a foul on Sean Davis was not immediately clear. The contest took a rather nasty turn after that caution, issued in the 25th minute. In the next 11 minutes, the names of Fulham's Luis Boa Morte and Albion's Moore were also entered in the referee's notebook, each for fouls of varying severity.
In all this time, the only shot on goal Fulham had managed was a curling free-kick by Davis that Russell Hoult, the Albion goalkeeper, caught comfortably. West Brom had tailed off a bit themselves towards the end of the first half, though Andy Johnson really ought to have done a lot better than shoot weakly at Van der Sar when Ronnie Wallwork put his fellow midfielder clean through.
West Brom flew out of the traps once more at the start of the second half and took the lead within three minutes of the restart. Moore, their giant central defender, got above Hughes at the far post to beat Van der Sar with a second header after the Fulham goalkeeper had blocked his first from a deep, inswinging corner by Clement.
| Match Stats |
WBA |
Fulham |
| Goal attempts |
13 |
10 |
| On Target |
7 |
2 |
| Fouls |
17 |
18 |
| Corners |
5 |
7 |
| Off-side |
2 |
0 |
| Yellows |
4 |
4 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: www.sportinglife.com |
Koumas joined the fray after 52 minutes, when Marshall hobbled off with what looked to be a pulled hamstring, and Albion ought to have gone further ahead five minutes later. Roberts, who had given Andy Melville a torrid time on the Welsh international defender's return to the Fulham side, worked his way in from the left and offered Johnson the perfect cut-back from the byline. However, the midfielder ballooned the chance over the bar.
Fulham coach Jean Tigana made a triple substitution on the hour, Zat Knight, Louis Saha and Steed Malbranque replacing Melville, Facundo Sava and Junichi Inamoto respectively. All that produced, though, was inconsequential shots from Davis and Saha. Meanwhile, Roberts proceeded to terrorise Knight as well, forcing his way past the gangling young defender but topping his shot at the vital moment.
Both Hughes and Roberts were substituted towards the end as all their hard work caught up with them and Hughes' replacement, the veteran striker, Bob Taylor, very nearly increased Albion's lead with the most spectacular of goals. Spotting that Van der Sar was well out of goal, Taylor took aim from just inside his own half and was thwarted only at the last as the Dutch beanpole back-pedalled furiously and managed to tip the ball over the bar.
West Brom:
Hoult, Moore, Gilchrist, Wallwork, Balis, Clement, Johnson, Gregan, Marshall (Koumas 52), Roberts (James Chambers 88), Hughes (Taylor 77).
Subs Not Used: Jensen, Dichio.
Booked: Hughes, Moore, Wallwork, Johnson.
Goals: Moore 48.
Fulham:
Van der Sar, Finnan, Brevett, Melville (Malbranque 59), Goma, Inamoto (Knight 60), Boa Morte, Legwinski, Davis, Sava (Saha 60), Marlet.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Hayles.
Booked: Boa Morte, Davis, Finnan.
Att: 25,461
Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).
Source S. Telegraph by Colin Malam