Clint Dempsey struck twice in the second half as Fulham battled into the top 10 after a 3-0 home win over Blackburn.
Nevland opens scoring before in-form midfielder nets brace
Clint Dempsey struck twice in the second half as Fulham battled into the top 10 in the Premier League after a 3-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. USA international midfielder Dempsey made it five goals in as many league appearances for the Cottagers after Erik Nevland had given the hosts a first-half lead. Blackburn, who were without manager Sam Allardyce as he prepares for heart surgery, wasted a golden opportunity to score after just two minutes through Franco Di Santo. And Fulham made Rovers pay just before half-time when Nevland exchanged passes with Bobby Zamora, and then Damien Duff, before snapping his shot past Paul Robinson. Fulham grew in confidence after the break and doubled their lead on 67 minutes when Dempsey scored from close range amid suspicions of offside after Duff's shot had deflected into his path. Nevland should have notched his second of the night after being played in by Dempsey and Rovers substitute Nikola Kalinic had a penalty shout dismissed before Fulham scored a third two minutes from the end. Simon Davies got in on the right side of the box and his low cross was controlled smartly by Dempsey, who turned sharply and fired past Robinson.Physically imposing
Blackburn had not lost to Fulham since 2005 and within two minutes they had a chance to claim an early advantage. Keith Andrews, a replacement as Brett Emerton had a knee injury, weighted a ball through the home defence, Franco di Santo got on the wrong side of Aaron Hughes but Mark Schwarzer stood up well and blocked the finish. Fulham's response was a direct move that saw Bobby Zamora hold the ball up, Duff cross to the far post and Dempsey head wide while under pressure from Blackburn's physically imposing defenders. It was hardly inspiring play from either team, both sending long balls forward that amounted to nothing. Jason Roberts at least created one chance when he brought a punt down, with El-Hadji Diouf crossing and Di Santo stabbing over. Di Santo also failed to get power on a close-range header after David Dunn's free-kick was nodded into the danger area - but it was not much to warm up the freezing fans at Fulham's stadium by the Thames. The supporters tried to liven things up with a hopeful penalty shout when Ryan Nelsen chested the ball in his area, but referee Stuart Attwell waved play on and there were no complaints from Fulham players. Roberts tried his luck with a turn and shot, although Schwarzer saved easily. The Rovers striker also curled wide just before the opener. Nevland's goal came two minutes before the break and was totally at odds with the 43 before it. Zamora sparked the slick move by back-heeling to his strike partner, Nevland then exchanged passes with Duff before setting his sights from the right side of the area. Robinson had not been required to save up to that point - and he would have been disappointed with Nevland's finish going in at the near post for the Norwegian's second of the season.Encouraged
Encouraged by their unexpected lead, Dempsey could have doubled the advantage three minutes after the restart when Jonathan Greening swung over a free-kick. But the American headed wide. Chris Baird, anchoring the midfield rather than in defence, forced Robinson into his first save of the match with a 25-yard shot in the 57th minute, after he had turned sharply away from Vince Grella. Rovers attempted to force an equaliser with a set-piece that Di Santo headed just wide - but that was his final contribution as Neil McDonald, in charge while Allardyce is away, changed both of his strikers. Roberts also came off, with Kalinic and Benny McCarthy coming on, but Fulham struck straight after the double swap. Duff ran at full-back Pascal Chimbonda and his deflected effort allowed Dempsey to tap in. Nevland raced through but finished wide when most of the ground thought he had added a third, while at the other end Kalinic was guilty of a blatant dive in the penalty area but did not fool Attwell. Dempsey's second came just before the final whistle. He collected Davies' cross at the near post, held off Andrews and slotted past Robinson.| Fulham | Team Statistics | Blackburn Rovers |
| 3 | Goals | 0 |
| 1 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 4 | Shots on Target | 3 |
| 5 | Shots off Target | 8 |
| 4 | Blocked Shots | 2 |
| 3 | Corners | 3 |
| 9 | Fouls | 13 |
| 1 | Offsides | 4 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 66.4 | Passing Success | 71.6 |
| 16 | Tackles | 13 |
| 56.2 | Tackles Success | 53.8 |
| 45.6 | Possession | 54.4 |
| 46.8 | Territorial Advantage | 53.2 |