Premier League

December 6, 2009
  • FTFT
     
    Fulham
    Sunderland
    1
    0
    1
    0
    1
  • FTFT
     
    Everton
    Tottenham
    2
    2
    2
    2
    2

Full-time

Fulham

1 - 0

Sunderland

Premier League

15:00 GMT, December 6, 2009

Craven Cottage, England

Referee: Mike Dean

Zamora on target for Cottagers

Fulham's Bobby Zamora scores the winning goal
Empics
Fulham's Bobby Zamora scores the winning goal

Scoring Summary

Fulham Sunderland
Bobby Zamora (7') 

Match Stats

Fulham

Sunderland

16(2) Shots (on Goal) 8(4)
10 Fouls 14
4 Corner Kicks 8
2 Offsides 2
48% Time of Possession 52%
1 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
4 Saves 1

Teams

Fulham Sunderland
1 Mark Schwarzer32 Marton Fulop
5 Brede Hangeland5 Anton Ferdinand
18 Aaron Hughes4 Michael Turner
3 Paul Konchesky10 Kieran Richardson
4 John Pantsil2 Phillip Bardsley
6 Chris Baird16 Jordan Henderson
27 Jonathan Greening19 Lorik Cana
23 Clint Dempsey20 Andy Reid
16 Damien Duff8 Steed Malbranque
10 Erik Nevland17 Kenwyne Jones
25 Bobby Zamora11 Darren Bent
Substitutes
13 Danny MurphyNyron Nosworthy 6
7 Seol Ki-HyeonDavid Healy 23
11 Zoltan GeraBoudewijn Zenden 7
34 Kagisho DikgacoiDaryl Murphy 14
19 Pascal ZuberbühlerFraizer Campbell 9
26 Chris SmallingTrevor Carson 24
17 Bjorn RiisePaulo Da Silva 22
Substitutions
Zoltan Gera for Erik Nevland (68)
Nyron Nosworthy for Anton Ferdinand (30)
Kagisho Dikgacoi for Jonathan Greening (86)
Fraizer Campbell for Steed Malbranque (70)
 Boudewijn Zenden for Kenwyne Jones (74)
Yellow Cards
Erik Nevland (26)
Kieran Richardson (12)
 Phillip Bardsley (90)
· Squads: Fulham | Sunderland

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora fired his club back into the top half of the Premier League then taunted his critics with his celebration at Craven Cottage.

The 28-year-old struck early on against Steve Bruce's men then pushed team-mate Damien Duff out of the way to finish off his gesture.

• Hodgson makes case for Zamora

While Zamora's work-rate is appreciated by boss Roy Hodgson, his goal against Sunderland was only his 10th in two seasons since arriving from West Ham.

It means Fulham leapfrog over Sunderland into eighth, with their form reliant on home performances - they have not lost on their own turf since September.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was sat next to Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn in the directors' box - and she saw Zamora hit the net with a winner after seven minutes.

Before that the visitors almost grabbed an early lead. Steed Malbranque, still jeered by home fans after leaving the club in 2006, was found when Lorik Cana robbed Paul Konchesky and slipped the ball through - but Mark Schwarzer was equal to the finish.

Then came Zamora's moment. Duff laid the ball back to John Pantsil on the right flank and when the ball came over Zamora zipped in front of Phil Bardsley to head home.

It was Zamora's sixth of the season and sparked his volatile celebration. He told his critics to "shut up'' after pushing team-mate Duff in the chest.

Sunderland's poor start also included a booking for Kieran Richardson, triggering a suspension as it was his fifth of a season where he has already been banned following a red card.

Erik Nevland also picked up a yellow card for sliding into the back of Anton Ferdinand's calves when the Sunderland defender was shielding the ball out of play.

It led to Ferdinand being replaced by Nyron Nosworthy, with the substitute fouling Zamora with his first act and Clint Dempsey sending the free-kick just over the crossbar.

USA international Dempsey, who England will be facing at the World Cup, also went wide when Zamora had beaten Michael Turner to flick on inside the penalty area.

Zamora got close to a second goal when he glanced on Jonathan Greening's corner - but the effort went wide of the post - and he also headed against the bar from Konchesky's cross.

Nevland was guilty of one of the misses of the season before the break when Zamora found him in the six-yard area from Dempsey's lob into the danger zone. Marton Fulop saved the first effort and Nevland blasted over the rebound with the goal at his mercy.

Fabio Capello's men will have to be wary of Dempsey's shoot-on-sight policy, with the attacking-midfielder firing wide just after the restart.

At the other end, Konchesky's under-hit backpass presented a chance for Kenwyne Jones to score but the Trinidad and Tobago forward had his finish saved by Schwarzer.

The visitors got even closer to an equaliser when Darren Bent met Richardson's cross with a first-time volley that flew just wide.

Former Tottenham striker Bent also flashed wildly over the crossbar after Fulham failed to deal with a straightforward cross from Andy Reid.

Bolo Zenden came on for Sunderland and Schwarzer had to save his long-range effort before the end.

  • Hodgson makes case for Zamora

    After the match Fulham boss Roy Hodgson compared Zamora to Emile Heskey and put him forward as a possible World Cup candidate after the striker silenced his critics with the winner.

    "Maybe he reads too many of these blogs that people write in to," said Hodgson. "Our fans in the Hammersmith end actually constantly chant his name. But these people who write into the club's blogs, they're the real experts and they want something that he's not been able to give them - 30 goals a year. But he has been a key player for us."

    Hodgson added: "Heskey is a very powerful player, a very willing player and a hard working player. Bobby is more technical.

    "It was quite interesting being on a panel with Terry Venables the other day, discussing World Cup squads. He's got experience of that from Euro 96 and me from the World Cup.

    "You could also make a case for one or two more unusual selections, players who maybe have something a little bit extra. He was talking about Ledley King.

    "If you perpetuated that argument, you might come up with an argument for someone like a Bobby Zamora, the type of player who we don't have too many like in the English Premiership."

    Black Cats boss Steve Bruce was upset with his side's first-half performance. "It was disappointing," he said. "In the second half, we had a response. But the first half was not good enough. We've got a right to be disappointed.

    "We've got to do something away from home to get this monkey off our backs. But you won't win a game in the Premier League if you play like we did in the first half.

    "I don't remember a side this Jekyll and Hyde, and it's pretty alarming. I'll have to do something about it. We had thousands here, and thousands at Wigan, and we're not doing enough."