Damien Duff can start putting his Republic of Ireland World Cup heartache behind him after inspiring Fulham to a point at Craven Cottage.The winger was left in tears as his Ireland side was beaten in Paris with the help of a Thierry Henry hand ball that allowed France to secure a place in South Africa at the expense of the Republic.
However, on an afternoon when quality was in short supply and Bolton had six players booked for their physical approach, Duff popped up with a well-taken goal to cancel out Ivan Klasnic's opener. The draw ensured that Wanderers remain in the relegation zone.
REACTION:
Hodgson is impressed with the fact that Duff is now strong with both feet down the flank, and also paid credit to the Fulham goalscorer for the fitness levels he has managed to show in recent weeks.
Hodgson said: "He is like many of these left footed players who, over the years, have developed a good right foot.
"Lionel Messi is doing it now, and Diego Maradona was deceptive with his right foot. Certainly Damien has worked very hard on his so called wrong foot and I'd now describe him very much as a two-footed player.
"After what happened with Ireland he has had more a problem of fatigue than disappointment, because he played in those two very big games while we were swanning around here during the international break."
Hodgson added: "I thought we were unlucky to go in a goal down because there had not been much goalmouth activity, but in the second half we created a lot of opportunities."
The Fulham manager refused to critisice Bolton for their physical tactics, and visiting manager Gary Megson felt referee Steve Bennett's performance could have been better.
He said: "I did not feel it was officiated the same way for both teams.
"But most people expected us to get beaten today, and the one thing you can not say about us is that we have a problem with our spirit."
Klasnic's goal had given Bolton a first-half lead, but after the break they failed to show any additional attacking threat.
Megson added: "Klasnic is one of the best finishers in the Premier League. But at 1-0 I thought we had weathered the storm and thought we could have kept the ball up front better to alleviate pressure."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Bolton used a physical approach in this encounter and Fulham found it difficult to deal with. Although the home side had the better of the possession in the opening stages, Erik Nevland had a good chance blocked on the line by Gretar Steinsson, and then their performance fell flat. Megson's men took advantage and opened the scoring, as Klasnic got the better of Hangeland in the area and produced a clinical finish. Bolton barely had any attacking threat in the second half and Duff's equaliser was deserved. Zoltan Gera won the ball in midfield, fed Nevland, and he then picked out Duff who drove home.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Bolton's run of three successive league defeats has come to an end, but they remain in the relegation zone and have plenty of work to do if they are to start climbing the table. Fulham will be disappointed with their quality of football but will be happy to sit in tenth position ahead of their Europa League game this week.
QUOTABLE:
"Ricardo Gardner got booked for dissent, but he never says anything! Maybe we'll have to fine him for not saying enough."
- Megson shows his astonishment at the reasoning for one of his side's six yellow cards.
FULHAM 1 (Duff 75) BOLTON 1 (Klasnic 35)
PLAYER MARKING:
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer 6, Pantsil 5 (Davies 68, 6), Hangeland 5, Hughes 6, Konchesky 6, Gera 6 (Dikgacoi 80, 6), Baird 6, Greening 6, Duff 8, Nevland 5, Dempsey 7.
Subs (not used): Stockdale, Seol, Riise, Eddie Johnson, Smalling.
Bolton (4-1-4-1): Jaaskelainen 6, Steinsson 7, Andrew O'Brien 6, Cahill 6, Samuel 6; McCann 6; Cohen 5 (M Davies 78, 5), Gardner 6, Taylor 7, Kevin Davies 6; Klasnic 7 (Muamba 61).
Subs (not used): Al Habsi, Elmander, Knight, Ricketts, Lee.
ATTENDANCE: 23,554
NEXT UP:
- Fulham v CSKA Sofia (Home), Europa League, 03/12, 2005 GMT
- Bolton v Wolves (Away), Premier League, 05/12, 1500 GMT
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Damien Duff (Fulham): It was always going to be difficult to overcome the trauma of losing to France in a World Cup qualifier in Ireland's fashion, but Duff played with real determination here and his strike was well deserved on an afternoon when inspiration was lacking for the home side.
