Sam Allardyce will need to steer clear of the DVD of this match for the next few days if he want to avoid witnessing his Blackburn Rovers side being cynically dismantled by Fulham.Blackburn manager Allardyce missed the Craven Cottage clash as he waits to have heart surgery.
And it was just was well stayed away, for his blood pressure would have shot through the roof watching his side collapse to two goals from Clint Dempsey and another from Erik Nevland.
REACTION:
The win lifts Fulham up to 10th in the Premier League and their manager,Roy Hodgson, was delighted with their third consecutive home win.
He added: "I am pleased. It was a sweet victory. I have seen us play more attractive football but you have to be able to play well against the teams who don't allow you to play how you like. If you want to beat these teams you have to deal with that and then ask them questions.
"Fortunately, we had the fight and character to stay in the game and then we had one moment in the first-half where we scored a good goal."
With Allardyce at home, it was up to his assistant Neil McDonald to break the unwelcome news to the 55-year-old manager.
McDonald said: "I'm not quite sure how Sam was following the game, whether he was watching it on the internet but I'm sure he'd be listening on the radio. I'm sure he won't be happy.
"I will speak to Sam later to see how he is. I'm sure he will be bitterly disappointed because we have lost the game. We had a chance when we were playing well and even at half-time when it was only 1-0.
"But we have conceded three bad goals. That is the disappointing thing because there has been a missed chance tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
This match was not one for the purists. In fact, it was ugly at times. Some of Fulham's defending was woeful with Paul Konchesky having a difficult time in passing to his team mates.
For all their difficulty on their travels, Blackburn looked the better side inside the opening 43 minutes, yet for all their possession, they lacked the killer touch.
Just was they were enjoying their best spell of possession they were caught napping as Fulham took the lead just before half time.
Nevland exchanged passes with Bobby Zamora and then Damien Duff before firing past Paul Robinson at the near post.
The goal knocked Rovers for six and after the restart Fulham cranked up the pressure and Dempsey took both his goals well. There was a hint off offside about his first, when he deflected in Duff's shot
.
However, his second in the 89th minute was well-taken - a neat shot on the turn past Robinson.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Fulham are still on track for matching their achievement last season of a top seven finish. This win will lift them up the Premier League table and give them another boost of confidence. Hodgson has managed to build a team capable of competing at the top level and without breaking the bank.
For Blackburn, the away defeat will leave a bitter taste in their mouths. After the morale-boosting win at Bolton, a 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage ended their mini-revival.
QUOTABLE:
"I'm sure Sam's wife won't be happy."
McDonald believes Lynn Allardyce's efforts to keep her husband's blood pressure down have been scuppered by Fulham.
FULHAM 3 (Nevland 44, Dempsey 67, 89) BLACKBURN ROVERS 0
PLAYER MARKING:
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer 7; Pantsil 7, Hughes 7, Hangeland 6, Konchesky 5; Duff 6 (Davies 85,5), Baird 6, Greening 7, (Etuhu 81,5), Dempsey 8; Nevland, 8 Zamora, 7 (Gera, 59,6).
Subs (not used): Zuberbuhler, Ki-Hyeon, Smalling, Dikgacoi.
Blackburn (4-4-2): Robinson 6; Jacobsen 6, Samba 6, Nelsen 5, Chimbonda 6; Andrews 6, Dunn 7, Grella 6, Diouf, 6; Roberts 6, (McCarthy 66,5), Di Santo 5 (Kalinic, 66,5).
Subs (not used): Brown, Gamst Pedersen, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Salgado.
ATTENDANCE: 21,414
NEXT UP:
- Fulham v Bolton (Home), Premier League 28/11, 1500 GMT
- Blackburn v Stoke (Home) Premier League 28/11, 1500 GMT
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Clint Dempsey (Fulham) The American international was a constant thorn in Blackburn's side as he was at the heart of the majority of Fulham's attacks. He took his goals well to take his tally to five in five league games.
