Fulham deny resilient Rovers

Bobby Zamora scored the winner from the penalty spot in a 3-2 Fulham victory over Blackburn at Craven Cottage.

Zamora scores controversial late penalty as Cottagers edge thriller

Bobby Zamora scored the winner from the penalty spot upon his return to Premier League action in a 3-2 win for Fulham over Blackburn at Craven Cottage. In a pulsating encounter, Damien Duff scored twice against his old club, first handing them the lead on 37 minutes with a low drive. Rovers levelled through a deflected Grant Hanley strike before half-time, but Duff restored Fulham's advantage with another powerful drive shortly before the hour mark. Resilient Rovers came back again, though, with Junior Hoilett neatly volleying home six minutes later. Referee Mark Clattenburg then awarded the hosts a controversial 87th minute penalty, after he adjudged Hanley to have fouled Fulham defender Aaron Hughes. Zamora, a substitute for Danny Murphy, thumped the penalty down the centre on his first league appearance since breaking his leg against Wolves five months ago.

Changes

Blackburn boss Steve Kean made six changes to the team thrashed 4-1 by Aston Villa and should be pleased by a spirited display, despite defeat. However, Rovers have now lost four of their last five league games and are hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone. Fulham will argue that they should have been awarded a penalty shortly after Duff's opener when Christopher Samba appeared to trip up Andy Johnson, but Mr Clattenburg was unmoved. Jason Roberts drew an early save from the impressive Mark Schwarzer but the acute angle meant the Australian keeper was the favourite in the opening. Blackburn conceded a free-kick just outside the area when Samba shoved Clint Dempsey in the back, but Chris Baird blasted the set-piece into the wall with Duff then blazing high on the rebound. Johnson went close with a near-post volley after a delightful delivery from Duff, but the striker could not wrap his foot around it well enough. The Cottagers were marginally more incisive in attack, with Rovers a threat on the break, and their reward came in the 37th minute through Duff. Dickson Etuhu slid the ball to Duff who raced into the area, collected on his right before cutting inside Martin Olsson onto his left and drilling the ball towards goal. Paul Robinson, his sight partially blocked by Olsson, dipped his hands to his right but could not get enough on it to keep the ball from finding the net. Fulham were unlucky not to win a penalty moments later when Samba tripped Johnson without touching the ball, but Clattenburg was unconvinced. The Cottagers' good work was undone in first-half injury time, however, when Etuhu lost the ball to Hanley on the edge of his area. Hanley took the ball forward and pulled the trigger with his shot deflecting off the head of Hangeland, inside Schwarzer and into the net.

Second-half

Samba almost turned the ball into his own net as the second half got under way before Baird was forced to scramble a cross to safety. A series of hair-raising moments in the Blackburn area saw Fulham subdued by some desperate defending, the pick of which resulted in Dempsey being denied from close range. A second Fulham goal seemed inevitable and it arrived in the 59th minute when Duff struck once again. Moussa Dembele and Johnson exchanged passes before the ball was slipped to Duff who powered his shot past Robinson from the edge of the area. But once more their lead was shortlived as poor defending in the 66th minute that saw the ball bounce around the left post allowed an unmarked Hoilett to control and slam home. Blackburn were now on top and it was Fulham who were having to scramble to clear their lines. Jermaine Jones was gifted time to shoot by the home defence but his effort still sailed wide. But the last 10 minutes belonged to Fulham with a poor first touch from Duff squandering good work from Zamora. Robinson made a fine save from Johnson before the Cottagers' pressure told with a minute to go. Hanley held back Hughes at a corner and Clattenburg pointed to the spot where Zamora rifled home the winner. Rovers players, aggrieved at the late penalty call, surrounded Clattenburg at the final whistle and the referee brandished a red card to Gael Givet, who had been substituted during the game.

Fulham	Team Statistics	Blackburn Rovers
3	Goals	2
1	1st Half Goals	1
7	Shots on Target	7
5	Shots off Target	3
8	Blocked Shots	5
9	Corners	7
13	Fouls	19
2	Offsides	1
2	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	1
71.6	Passing Success	60.6
20	Tackles	22
65	Tackles Success	86.4
55.1	Possession	44.9
48.2	Territorial Advantage	51.8