- English Barclays Premier League
- 21 April 2012, 3:00pm
- Craven Cottage
- Attendance: 25,689
Fulham | v | Wigan |
2
| 1
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live commentary
90 mins:FULL-TIME: FULHAM 2-1 WIGAN: What an end to the game, but Fulham deservedly take all three points.
90 mins:Wigan are going for an equaliser but don't have the quality to penetrate Fulham's defence.
89 mins:GOAL: FULHAM 2-1 WIGAN: Fulham have surely won it, Senderos rising highest to head home Riise's free-kick.
87 mins:Frei goes into the book
85 mins:Moses is flagged offside.
83 mins:A Duff cross is deflected by Senderos into the side-netting, plenty of Fulham fans thought they'd scored.
81 mins:Danny Murphy is replaced by Kerim Frei.
79 mins:Pavel Pogrebnyak hits the post, following up Dempsey's effort which was saved - so unlucky!
77 mins:Clint Dempsey's effort is saved by Al-Habsi.
75 mins:Ben Watson is on for James McArthur.
73 mins:Wigan will be pleased to leave Craven Cottage with a point.
71 mins:Fulham are in control of the match as we enter the final 20 minutes.
69 mins:Great save from the Wigan keeper from Pavel Pogrebnyak's header, although the whistle had already gone for a foul.
67 mins:Al-Habsi makes a save low down to his right from Riise as Fulham look for the win.
65 mins:The game has burst into life since those goals.
63 mins:Pavel Pogrebnyak should have had a second, he meets Riise's cross and hits the crossbar.
62 mins:Boyce is booked for a foul on Dempsey.
60 mins:What a breathless two minutes in a previously uneventful game.
58 mins:GOAL: FULHAM 1-1 WIGAN: Fulham are level within a minute, Pavel Pogrebnyak playing a one-two with Dempsey and firing the ball into the corner.
57 mins:GOAL: FULHAM 0-1 WIGAN: Wigan take the lead, Emmerson Boyce smashing the ball home from 22 yards.
56 mins:Gomez is replaced by Shaun Maloney.
55 mins:Great chance for Wigan, Figueroa sending the ball narrowly wide with his left foot.
53 mins:Caldwell goes into the book for a foul on Pavel Pogrebnyak.
51 mins:The free-kick falls to Gomez, whose effort finds the side-netting.
50 mins:Wigan have a free-kick after Jean Beausejour takes a tumble.
48 mins:Dempsey is on the floor following a challenge from Maynor Figueroa, but the referee says no foul.
46 mins:Fulham kick off the second half.
45 mins:HALF-TIME: FULHAM 0-0 WIGAN: Things can only improve in the second half.
43 mins:Gomez goes for goal from a tight angle and Schwarzer saves.
41 mins:It's all gone a little quiet, Wigan will be happy with a point from this contest.
39 mins:Another Riise cross is blocked, this time by Emmerson Boyce.
38 mins:Caldwell does well to clear John Arne Riise's cross.
36 mins:A long-range effort from Gomez goes well wide.
34 mins:Duff goes for goal, trying to bend the ball into the far corner, but can't find the target.
33 mins:Conor Sammon comes on for the injured Di Santo.
31 mins:Di Santo looks to be struggling for Wigan.
30 mins:Fulham need to convert their possession into clear-cut chances.
29 mins:Dempsey sends a tempting ball into the area but his team-mates can't capitalise.
27 mins:Di Santo is caught offside.
26 mins:Al Habsi easily deals with a Dempsey cross.
24 mins:Maynor Figueroa blocks a low drive from Dembele, it's all Fulham.
23 mins:Fulham are in control at the moment.
21 mins:Gomez picks himself up to take a free-kick after being felled by Diarra, but can't beat the wall.
19 mins:The resultant corner finds Brede Hangeland but he heads the ball wide.
18 mins:Pogrebnyak has a shot blocked by Caldwell.
16 mins:Dempsey is almost found by a searching ball but can't quite control it.
15 mins:There's a lull in the game with Wigan prepared to sit back.
13 mins:Pavel Pogrebnyak is caught offside.
11 mins:Moses forces a save from Schwarzer, turning and shooting towards the corner.
10 mins:Fulham have a free-kick just outside the area, the ball is rolled to Duff by Murphy, and the Irishman sends the ball over the bar.
9 mins:Fulham play the corner short, Duff swings the ball in but it's cleared by Wigan.
8 mins:Fulham have a corner after Duff's header was headed behind.
6 mins:Gomez turns and shoots, but it's way off target.
5 mins:It's a quiet start to the game at Craven Cottage, not much hapenning so far.
3 mins:Now Gomez goes down in the area, but that was definitely not a foul.
2 mins:Fulham are immediately on the attack and Dempsey appears to be fouled by Gary Caldwell in the area, but a goal-kick is awarded.
1 mins:Referee Lee Mason blows his whistle and the game gets underway.
Wigan have won four of their last five games, and Roberto Martinez will be aiming for another victory this afternoon.
Pavel Pogrebnyak comes in for Andy Johnson for Fulham, while Wigan are unsurprisingly unchanged from their stunning victory at Arsenal.
- English Barclays Premier League
- 21 April 2012, 3:00pm
- Craven Cottage
- Attendance: 25,689
| Fulham | v | Wigan |
2
| 1
|
match report
Philippe Senderos scored a last-gasp header as Wigan were reminded they are not yet assured of Premier League safety in a 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
Senderos nodded home his first ever Cottagers goal in the 89th minute to ensure the hosts followed up their win at the DW Stadium earlier in the season with another deserved victory.
Fulham dominated play by the Thames but the match looked set to end level after Pavel Pogrebnyak had a legitimate goal ignored in an incident which will renew calls for goal-line technology.
Shortly after the Russia international had brought the Whites level following Emmerson Boyce's strike, he saw a 63rd-minute effort hit the underside of the crossbar and, he thought, bounce down over the line.
The 28-year-old wheeled off in celebration, but the officials waved play on having ruled the ball was not fully over.
Pogrebnyak hit the post as Fulham continued to press but, with a draw looking on the card, Senderos nodded home John Arne Riise's free-kick.
Wigan had been on the back foot from the first whistle and were fortunate not to give away a penalty inside a minute when Clint Dempsey burst down the left flank and went down under pressure from Gary Caldwell, with referee Lee Mason waved away the hosts' penalty appeals.
The Cottagers had the Latics penned back in their own half, and only a late challenge prevented a Pogrebnyak cut-back being met from close range by Dempsey.
Jordi Gomez fired over on a rare Wigan attack, before Damien Duff miscued with the goal gaping after a neat free-kick by Danny Murphy.
Wigan began to settle after a slow opening and Victor Moses forced Mark Schwarzer into action with a stinging effort in the 12th minute.
The match became far more even as the first half progressed, with both sides enjoying spells in the ascendancy.
Fulham followed Wigan's spell of dominance with Pogrebnyak and Senderos efforts, before Mousa Dembele saw a fierce drive blocked.
The Whites again came close moments later when neat interplay between Riise and Dempsey allowed the latter to fire the ball across the face of goal.
Nobody could connect with the squared ball but Wigan's foothold on the game was clearly slipping.
Their afternoon got worse in the 33rd minute when striker Franco Di Santo limped off injured and was replaced by Conor Sammon.
Duff curled wide moments after the substitution and Dempsey forced a low save from Ali Al-Habsi as Fulham looked for the opener.
The away support continued to sing "I'm a believer" despite Fulham's dominance and they almost had something else to cheer about with the last chance of the opening 45 minutes, with Gomez forcing Schwarzer into a low save from an acute angle.
Six minutes after the restart Wigan fans were celebrating what they thought was the opening goal when Gomez controlled and struck yards from goal, although the effort only managed to ripple the side netting.
The visitors, though, had begun the second period brightly and Moses tested Schwarzer from long range, before Maynor Figueroa's bouncing effort went well wide.
Fulham fans spent the start of the second half rounding on referee Mason, who was the subject of ironic cheers when he handed Caldwell the game's first booking.
The official's performance could not hide the hosts' poor start, though, and Wigan took the lead in the 57th minute.
Boyce followed up his pass to Sammon and hit an exquisitely-struck shot from 20 yards into the bottom left hand corner.
However, the lead lasted just over 60 seconds as Fulham attacked immediately and Pogrebnyak hit a left-footed effort past Al-Habsi from the edge of the box.
The Russia international thought he had then given Fulham the lead in the 63rd minute when he met Riise's cross, striking an effort which hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down toward the line.
Pogrebnyak thought the ball had crossed the line, but the officials waved play on having ruled the ball was not fully over.
The 28-year-old again came close in the 77th minute when Dempsey forced Al-Habsi to parry only for Pogrebnyak's follow-up to bobble onto the post and out.
Fulham continued to press for a winner and Senderos almost scored when a Caldwell clearance hit him and flew into the side netting.
The goal would not have counted due to offside but the former Arsenal defender was not to be denied for long, heading home Riise's free-kick in the 89th minute.
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