Piquionne earns a point

Frederic Piquionne scored again as West Ham fought back to earn a derby draw with Fulham at Upton Park.

Piquionne equalises Dempsey strike but Hammers return to bottom

Frederic Piquionne scored again as West Ham fought back to earn a derby draw with Fulham at Upton Park. The Cottagers went ahead when American striker Clint Dempsey, who humiliated Robert Green 112 days ago at the World Cup, beat the England keeper with a volley on 33 minutes after good work from Simon Davies. But the Hammers were level six minutes after the break when Brede Hangeland played a sloppy pass which Luis Boa Morte intercepted and fed to Victor Obinna, whose cross from the right was headed home by Piquionne for his third goal in as many games. But the point was not enough to prevent Avram Grant's side from slipping back to the bottom of the table on goal difference, while Fulham's unbeaten start to the campaign remains intact. The Hammers were dealt an early blow with the news that Kieron Dyer had failed to recover from a stomach upset. Fulham manager Mark Hughes paired Dempsey in attack with fellow American Eddie Johnson. Green was coming face to face with Dempsey for the first time since his embarrassing blunder in Rustenburg and the American wasted little time in trying to test the goalkeeper from long range - but his weak effort curled wide. The shot came moments after Dempsey was hauled down on the halfway line by Danny Gabbidon, who entered referee Andre Marriner's notebook for the challenge. Piquionne, preferred to England striker Carlton Cole after scoring last week's winner against Spurs, then drew a goal-line clearance from Carlos Salcido with a powerful header. It was Fulham, though, who had most of the early possession. Damien Duff, who had earlier received treatment for a cut above the eye, fired just wide from 25 yards in the 10th minute. West Ham started to hit back and Mark Schwarzer had to be quick off his line to beat Piquionne to the ball after Mark Noble had split the Fulham back line.

Large bump

Dempsey was left with a large bump near his eye after an aerial challenge with Manuel da Costa. He complained he had been elbowed by the defender but Marriner allowed play to continue. Danny Murphy's lofted ball over the top set Johnson free and he went down under pressure in the box from Lars Jacobsen, but Marriner failed to give a penalty, much to the annoyance of boss Hughes. A smile could be seen on the Welshman's face moments later, though, when Dempsey was played in over the top by Davies before he despatched a left-foot volley past Green from 12 yards to put Fulham 1-0 up. Dickson Etuhu picked up a booking for a late challenge on Scott Parker, who had received a yellow a few minutes earlier for a clumsy hack on Dempsey. The American then came close to doubling Fulham's advantage soon after the break when his curling shot bounced on top of the bar. But sloppy play cost Fulham after 51 minutes as West Ham drew level through Piquionne's header. Hangeland's misplaced pass was picked up by Boa Morte, who laid the ball down the right flank to Obinna. The Nigerian's cross was at the perfect height for the unmarked Piquionne, who made no mistake from six yards. Dempsey then outmuscled Da Costa and Gabbidon to break into the Hammers' box but Green came to the rescue by rushing out to bravely snatch the ball from the forward's feet.

Mistimed

Hammers captain Matthew Upson became the fourth player to receive a booking when he mistimed a sliding challenge on Dempsey just after the hour. Cole, who has failed to find the net for West Ham so far this season, came on for Barrera with little over 20 minutes to go while Fulham brought on Zoltan Gera for Duff, who limped off holding his left leg. Dempsey then came close to putting Fulham ahead when he glanced a header just wide of Green's right-hand post from Gera's cross. Diomansy Kamara came on to replace the ineffective Johnson with 13 minutes left as both sides struggled to take hold of the game. Green then beat away a difficult Davies shot with five minutes left and the England shot-stopper again came to his side's rescue shortly after when he produced a fine reaction save from Etuhu's close-range header. Both sides were going all out for victory in the last few minutes, with Kamara failing to take advantage of a golden chance to grab the win in injury-time when he was played in behind the back four but missed the target with a wild effort. Salcido's body check on Boa Morte then angered Grant, who marched 20 yards out of his technical area to remonstrate with the referee in the dying seconds. The Hammers continued to push right until the end for a winner but fell short, although they extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches with the draw. However, Grant's side dropped to the bottom of the table after Wigan's win over Wolves and Everton's first victory of the season at Birmingham.

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Fulham
1	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
3	Shots on Target	4
8	Shots off Target	11
1	Blocked Shots	2
2	Corners	3
24	Fouls	8
2	Offsides	0
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
75.8	Passing Success	77
16	Tackles	15
68.8	Tackles Success	80
45.1	Possession	54.9
46.7	Territorial Advantage	53.3