A Clint Dempsey goal in each half helped Fulham take all three points in a 2-0 win over ten-man Stoke.
Shawcross dismissed after giving away penalty
A Clint Dempsey goal in each half was enough to see Fulham take all three points in a 2-0 win over ten-man Stoke.
Fulham out-performed a toothless Stoke side who saw any chance of a comeback dashed by a Ryan Shawcross red card.
Dempsey looked sharp and latched onto a great Andy Johnson first-half ball to fire the home side ahead before converting a second half penalty to seal all three points.
Fulham enjoyed the majority of the possession in a lively first half but Stoke defended resolutely for the most part.
Damien Duff and the returning Andy Johnson but put in great shifts and were a handful for the Stoke defence all game.
Both teams had good chances and rattled the woodwork early on. A rasping Duff drive cannoned off the crossbar while Stoke's Kenwyne Jones' shot struck the outside of the post from an acute angle.
Feuding managers
The opposing managers had refused to shake hands following their two previous meetings this season.
But Fulham boss Mark Hughes was yesterday keen to end the feud and duly made the first move as he greeted Tony Pulis before the game, and they were again on favourable terms after the game.
The home fans were not so generous, repeatedly jeering Andy Wilkinson for the September tackle on Moussa Dembele that sparked the bad blood.
Pulses were racing from the off today, with Shawcross nodding Matthew Etherington's free-kick inches wide inside five minutes and Damien Duff crashing a terrific 30-yard strike against the crossbar two minutes later.
Danny Murphy was narrowly off target after being invited to shoot from 20 yards before David Stockdale saved Tuncay's low strike from the tightest of angles.
Both sides then began to toil until Duff tried a 22nd-minute curling shot which an unsighted Asmir Begovic palmed behind, before Murphy was booked for a tackle from behind on Dean Whitehead.
Stoke almost scored from the resulting free-kick, with Chris Baird's mistimed clearance falling to Kenwyne Jones, who blasted the ball against the near post.
The febrile home fans were incensed by a number of decisions that went against their side but they were celebrating in the 33rd minute when Dempsey gave them the lead.
Duff pounced on a loose ball as Stoke went to sleep, allowing Andy Johnson to get to the byline and cross for Dempsey to slide home his eighth goal of the season ahead of Wilkinson.
A frustrated Wilkinson was booked two minutes later after needlessly clattering into Johnson on the byline.
Fulham enjoyed the better of the early moments in the second half without really threatening.
Then, in the 55th minute, Dempsey produced a wondrous Dennis Bergkamp-esque piece of control to take Murphy's long ball around Shawcross, who bundled him over to concede a penalty.
Referee Stuart Attwell brandished a red card and Dempsey blasted the penalty straight down the middle.
Changes
The ten-men quickly saw a double change, with new signing John Carew and Abdoulaye Faye on for Tuncay and Danny Collins.
Fulham then lost Dickson Etuhu to injury, meaning a debut for Steve Sidwell, with Stoke responding by withdrawing Etherington for Glenn Whelan.
Wilkinson's speculative strike deflected behind off Rory Delap, while Sidwell's more measured effort also took a nick at the other end.
Johnson should have made it 3-0 18 minutes from time but shot straight at Begovic under pressure from Faye, before Delap nearly deflected a mis-hit clearance into his own net.
Zoltan Gera and Rafik Halliche then replaced Dembele - who had been impressive on his first start for more than two months - and Aaron Hughes for the final 15 minutes.
Jones nodded Delap's corner over the top as the visitors made a token effort to set up a tense finish, but they were long since beaten.
| Fulham |
Team Statistics |
Stoke City |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 3 |
Corners |
2 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 80.5 |
Passing Success |
62 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 86.7 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 63.9 |
Possession |
36.1 |
| 57.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.9 |
|
