Wolves hunt down Cottagers

Wolves secured their first home win the Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Fulham on Sunday.

Wanderers rise to 12th in the table after hard-earned win

Wolves secured their first home win the Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Fulham on Sunday. Kevin Doyle opened his league account to give the hosts a deserved lead midway through the first half before David Edwards' classy finish doubled the West Midlands side's lead. The Cottagers, who looked out of sorts for most of the match, managed to pinch back a goal when Danny Murphy netted from the spot midway into the second half. But resolute defending - none more so than man of the match Christoph Berra - ensured Mick McCarthy's outfit the spoils while the visitors could have no excuses for their lacklustre performance which sees them fall to 13th. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson had rested 10 of the starting line-up from the midweek Europa League draw with CSKA Sofia but one would have thought otherwise the way the visitors began the Molineux fixture.

Opener

Both sides gave the ball away far too often in an uneventful opening 15 minutes but it all changed in the 18th minute when Doyle, a £6.5million summer signing from Reading, struck. The Republic of Ireland international had looked the liveliest player on the pitch so it was no surprise he reacted quickest to Berra's flick-on from Greg Halford's long throw to nod past Schwarzer from close range. Fulham had been in a similar position before exactly a week ago against Everton and went on to win so Wolves could not afford to relax. They did not and continued to harry and harass the off-key Cottagers, who were struggling to string together a few passes never mind create anything resembling a chance. Wolves thought they had doubled their lead seconds before the interval after Andy Keogh had the ball in the net from a first-time shot but was flagged offside. Fulham were so poor in the first half they failed to register a single shot but Wolves did not have the same problem and added a second goal five minutes after the interval.

2-0

Andrew Johnson's aimless header in the centre circle was picked up by Edwards who released Keogh through the inside-right channel. The midfielder continued his run forward and when Keogh cut the ball back to the penalty spot Edwards' sweetly struck first-time strike gave Schwarzer no chance. Fulham finally recorded their first shot, of sorts, in the 54th minute when Johnson just got to Damien Duff's cross from the right before Wayne Hennessey but only succeeded in diverting the ball into the goalkeeper's arms. Seconds later Schwarzer was forced to tip Aaron Hughes' back-header on to the crossbar after the centre-back failed to properly deal with Keogh's inswinging cross from the left. Hennessey produced a good save to keep out Dickson Etuhu's 25-yard shot and as Johnson pounced on the rebound he was flagged offside. But Fulham were handed a lifeline when referee Kevin Friend, on his Premier League debut, ruled Michael Mancienne had hauled Zamora to the floor contesting Johnson's cross and Murphy rolled home the penalty in the 67th minute. Castillo got back to clear substitute Diomansy Kamara's shot away from the near post as at least two Fulham players sprung the offside trap from a 78th-minute free-kick. With three minutes remaining Michael Kightly, who had been out since March with injury, made a welcome return as a substitute and was given a rousing reception by Molineux. The visitors increased the pressure in the closing stages but Wolves held on for a deserved three points.

Wolverhampton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Fulham
2	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	0
3	Shots on Target	4
8	Shots off Target	1
3	Blocked Shots	3
3	Corners	3
16	Fouls	10
3	Offsides	5
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
66.2	Passing Success	70.6
6	Tackles	12
83.3	Tackles Success	83.3
45.7	Possession	54.3
56.9	Territorial Advantage	43.1