Baird brace lifts Cottagers

Chris Baird's first goals for Fulham saw the Cottagers beat Stoke and climb out of the drop zone.

Defender's first ever goals lifts pressure on Hughes

Chris Baird's first goals for Fulham saw the Cottagers beat Stoke 2-0 and climb out of the drop zone. The full-back latched onto a loose ball on four minutes before unleashing a piledriver from 25 yards which went in off Asmir Begovic's right post. Baird then doubled the advantage from a free-kick in a similar position six minutes later to put the Cottagers well in control. The hosts dominated proceedings from that point and Danny Murphy headed a Ryan Shawcross header off the line just before the interval. But the Cottagers held firm under intense pressure in the second period to post a first away league win of the season and ease the pressure on boss Mark Hughes. Baird, who had never scored for the Cottagers before, was an unlikely goalscorer to seal an unlikely result, as the London outfit recorded their first away win in the league in 27 attempts. The Potters would have gone into the game feeling confident having already beaten Fulham three times in 2010, but it was the visitors who found themselves ahead after only four minutes. Simon Davies sent in a cross from the left that was only partially cleared and it fell to Baird, who rifled in a bullet of a shot that Begovic could not prevent crashing in off the post.

Swift response

The hosts tried to make a swift response and Robert Huth's shot sailed over, but Andrew Johnson had a chance to make it 2-0 soon after having wriggled through a crowd of players. Johnson's effort was straight at Begovic, but moments later, Fulham had doubled their advantage, leaving Stoke and their supporters stunned. Perhaps most surprised of all was the scorer himself, Baird again hitting the back of the net with a long-range strike, this time having been teed up by a free-kick awarded when Jermaine Pennant had brought down Davies. The shell-shocked Potters attempted to regroup and slowly started to exert some pressure, with Kenwyne Jones narrowly heading over from a corner. Dean Whitehead then lashed a shot over and protested that he had been impeded by a foul from Davies, but referee Kevin Friend waved the penalty appeals away. Fulham were almost in again just after the half-hour mark after Begovic's kick went straight to a Fulham shirt, but Dickson Etuhu skewed his cross and the move broke down. At the other end, Huth drilled a free-kick into the wall and Mark Schwarzer managed to collect the ball after Rory Delap had delivered a dangerous long throw into the box. Just before the break Johnson was fed by Clint Dempsey but was denied by a last-ditch tackle from Ryan Shawcross, who then saw a header cleared off the line by Murphy.

Fresh impetus

Stoke boss Tony Pulis, hoping to give his side fresh impetus in attack, brought on Ricardo Fuller for Jon Walters 10 minutes into the second half and the Potters pressed forward. The home supporters cried out twice in quick succession that a Fulham player had handled in the box, but Friend judged neither Johnson nor Brede Hangeland - who was immense at the back - had been guilty of the offence. Stoke then earned a free-kick in a useful position which Pennant curled off-target and Jones rose high to meet a Danny Collins cross but could not guide his header the right side of the post. Tuncay Sanli was next to be introduced to the action in place of Matthew Etherington before the Potters went the closest yet to pulling a goal back. Jones found Fuller on the right who laid the ball back to Huth, whose low effort brought out a good save from Schwarzer diving down to his right. Pennant then saw his shot cannon off a defender as the hosts realised it was not their day and Fulham held on for a vital victory.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Fulham
0	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	2
3	Shots on Target	3
6	Shots off Target	1
8	Blocked Shots	1
9	Corners	2
8	Fouls	14
2	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
55.5	Passing Success	66.5
15	Tackles	22
60	Tackles Success	72.7
51.1	Possession	48.9
56.5	Territorial Advantage	43.5