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The Mirror |
Fulham (1) 1 West Brom (0) 1
Fulham fans called for Martin Jol to be sacked after Gareth McAuley rescued a late, late point for West Brom.
A section of the home support chanted 'Jol out' at the final whistle as the club's disappointing start to the season continued.
It was far from the entire crowd, but it is the first public sign of dissent against Jol at the start of his third season at the club.
And the Dutchman was left cursing his luck as his side had three goals disallowed for offside as they wasted a number of chances to build on Steve Sidwell's first-half strike and put the game to bed.
They were made to pay when McAuley finally scored West Brom's first goal of the season as he headed home Chris Brunt's corner deep in injury-time.
But this game will be remembered for some fans turning against Jol, who was forced to defend himself.
"If we would have been bottom of the league I would understand it, but we are 13th now," said Jol when asked about the chants. "It is a bit disappointing. It is very hard to meet expectations.
"Expectations can make you very unhappy. Do the fans expect too much?
"It is the same as with women - you could wake up in the morning with a big shock, but if you don't expect a lot of things - well, we are 13th in the league.
"We have good players, better players than ever before. If they are all available we could create something nice. If not, it is not the end of the world."
West Brom boss Steve Clarke was relieved after his team finally got off the mark thanks to McAuley's header. He said: "I thought we played well today. In the second-half we were good and created really good chances.
"To chase the game and get the goal in injury-time was great. That shows the character with the players I've got."
Fulham had started well though and took the lead thanks to Sidwell who came up with a smart finish midway through the first half on his 400th career appearance.
Albion goalkeeper Boaz Myhill could have done better, but Sidwell won't be complaining, his half-volley hitting the back of the net after Philippe Senderos had headed a corner into his path.
Albion were rocking now, as Dimitar Berbatov had two goals disallowed for offside - the second was extremely close - with Myhill doing well to deny the Bulgarian when Bryan Ruiz played him in.
But the best save of the match came when Fulham keeper David Stockdale brilliantly stopped Nicolas Anelka's low effort.
Fulham could have made the game safe when Ruiz hit the bar with Hugo Rodallega offside when he netted the rebound.
But there was a sting in the tail as McAuley rose highest to power home the equaliser.
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