Substitute Matt Derbyshire gave Blackburn their first home win of the season with an 84th-minute goal.
Matt Derbyshire's late strike gives Rovers all three points
Substitute Matt Derbyshire gave Blackburn their first home win of the season with a clinical 84th-minute strike which lifts them out of the relegation zone.
Derbyshire was the first to react to Roque Santa Cruz's header across the face of goal, beating Brede Hangeland to the ball before lashing home from six yards out.
Neither side really deserved all three points, and the second half especially was bereft of any quality until Derbyshire broke the deadlock with six minutes left.
Chances were few and far between for both sides, and those that did come all arrived in a first half which will be remembered for rash challenges instead of sharp finishing.
Brett Emerton hit the post for Rovers in the first half, and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora spurned several headed chances in the second, before Derbyshire's decisive late impact.
Coming into the game on the back of two consecutive wins, Fulham started well and when Simon Davies crossed Andrew Johnson looked certain to score only for Paul Robinson to somehow palm his low shot over the bar.
Moment of magic
Rovers responded by almost taking the lead themselves in the eighth minute,
Jason Roberts flicking the ball on to Andrews who lashed a right-foot shot into the side-netting.
Andrews was the first man in referee Lee Probert's book in the 25th minute for
a scything challenge on Jimmy Bullard on the halfway line which left the Fulham
man requiring lengthy treatment.
Bullard was back in the wars on the half hour when he was dumped on the turf by Emerton, earning the Australian a yellow card and Fulham a free-kick 35 yards from the Rovers goal.
This time Murphy sent his set-piece out wide to Bobby Zamora, whose
header flew over the bar before Rovers immediately responded with a chance of their own, Santa Cruz wriggling clear but drilling a low shot straight at
Schwarzer.
A moment of magic from Emerton almost gave Rovers the lead in the 39th minute when he cut into the box from the left flank and flung in a curling effort which beat Schwarzer but clattered back off the far post.
Fulham created the first chance of the second half when Murphy's neat through
ball sent Johnson scampering into the box, but Ryan Nelsen got back well to make a superb saving challenge.
Villanueva impresses
Referee Probert was doing little to endear himself to the home fans, booking
Chris Samba for hacking down Zamora but moments later allowing John Pantsil to escape after tripping Keith Treacy on the wing.
Rovers were struggling to find a way through the resolute Fulham rearguard with Santa Cruz forced out wide chasing an Emerton through ball and Roberts failing to reach a high cross from Danny Simpson.
The visitors almost made Rovers pay on the hour when Pantsil lofted in a cross from deep on the right flank and Zamora rose unchallenged to head the ball onto the roof of the net, although he was subsequently deemed offside.
Fulham came even closer in the 63rd minute when Johnson wriggled clean through in the box and when his low shot was saved by Robinson, Nelsen booted the rebound clear under pressure from Davies.
Eager to finally earn his first home league win as Rovers boss, Ince responded
in the 65th minute by withdrawing Roberts in favour of Premier League debutant Carlos Villanueva.
Derbyshire followed shortly afterwards in place of Treacy and capped his
introduction by finishing off the fine move which finally gave Rovers their first home win of the season.
It might have got even better for the home side in the dying minutes with the
impressive Villanueva unleashing a powerful left-foot drive which flashed just
wide of Schwarzer's right-hand post.
| Blackburn Rovers |
Team Statistics |
Fulham |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 4 |
Corners |
3 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
6 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.7 |
Passing Success |
74.1 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
23 |
| 77.8 |
Tackles Success |
73.9 |
| 51.6 |
Possession |
48.4 |
| 56.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.2 |
|
