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 Saturday 11th February 2006, Barclays Premiership, Craven Cottage, Kick-Off 3:00pm
Fulham: Niemi, Volz,
Bocanegra, Knight, Bridge, Radzinski, Malbranque, Elliott, Boa Morte,
McBride, Helguson (John 64). Subs not used: Warner (gk), Legwinski, N
Jensen, Goma
Albion: Kuszczak (Hoult 61), Albrechtsen, C
Davies, Gaardsoe (Martinez
HT), Clement, Inamoto, Wallwork, Quashie, Greening, Horsfield (Ellington
HT), Campbell. Subs not used: Carter, Kozak
Referee: Graham Poll (Hertfordshire)
Assistant Referees: Phil Sharp (Hertfordshire),
Mike Tingey (Buckinghamshire)
Half-Time:
Attendance: 21,508 Conditions: Overcast, sun breaking through later
SKY SPORTS
The Cottagers opened the scoring after just four minutes, with a goal of remarkable simplicity. Antti Niemi's long kick up field was won in the air by Brian McBride, whose flick-on went straight through to Helguson. The Icelandic striker had anticipated the touch perfectly, and lost his marker before coolly slotting his shot past Tomasz Kuszczak. West Brom had yet to settle, and were lucky not to fall further behind moments later as they struggled to regroup, when Carlos Bocanegra only managed to direct his free header straight at Kuszczak. Fulham were playing with the confident swagger that the Craven Cottage faithful has grown accustomed to this season, combining some neat passing with a constant aerial threat, but West Brom have become more resourceful over recent months, and started to gain a foothold in the game. January acquisition Nigel Quashie twice tested Niemi from outside the area, first forcing the keeper to tip over after a powerful run from midfield, and then firing through a crowded box after a goalmouth scramble. However, Fulham always posed a threat from set pieces, and doubled their advantage five minutes before half time when Helguson rose above the West Brom defence to nod home a Simon Elliott free kick. After withstanding one or two anxious moments at the start of the second half, Tomasz Radzinski scored Fulham's third and his first in 27 Premiership games, to settle the contest with more than 40 minutes remaining. On this occasion Helguson turned provider, feeding Steed Malbranque. The midfielder then displayed great vision to pick out Radzinski's run, and the former Everton man showed great composure to bring the ball down, before delicately guiding his shot past the onrushing goalkeeper. West Brom's misery was compounded after 58 minutes, when Helguson's wayward shot was deflected by Curtis Davies past the despairing Kuszczak. The Baggies shot-stopper was replaced by Russell Hoult after picking up an injury, and with West Brom's heads beginning to drop, a huge margin of victory was looking on the cards. Fulham continued to dominate in the final 20 minutes, and added a fifth when substitute John expertly turned in Radzinski's inviting cross from just five yards out (83). West Brom restored a modicum of pride with a well-worked goal just two minutes later, Kevin Campbell firing past Niemi after receiving an incisive pass from Junichi Inamoto, but there was still time for Fulham to score again and put the seal on a wonderful afternoon. In the last minute of normal time The Cottagers broke clear of a rare West Brom attack and launched a swift counter attack, with John providing the finishing touch after more great work from Radzinski.
wba.co.uk
Bryan Robson: "I think I've got to apologise to the 3,500 fans who travelled down to Fulham. They gave us great support and it's a pity my players didn't match that on the pitch. "I thought we started off the game quite well. We were passing the ball around and pegged Fulham back. Then the first time their goalkeeper kicks the ball down the park, we conceded a schoolboy goal. Their centre-forward flicked it on and the other centre-forward got onto it to put us 1-0 down early on. That goal just about summed my back four up today because, for whatever reason, they were just shocking. There is no excuse. If you defend like that in the Premiership - or in any division - you will get beaten. We were a soft touch today. We were mentally weak. "I hope it's a one off because I just can't see us playing that badly again in terms of being a defensive unit. A defeat like that is embarrassing and should hurt your pride. I hope the players are feeling the same way I'm feeling at this moment in time. You just don't want to see your team perform in that manner "I still felt we maybe had a way back into the game at the start of the second half but the first time Fulham got on the ball again they went straight through the middle of our defence. Once we were 3-0 down, all the bad habits crept in again. We let players run off us and defended the way we started the game - badly. "You never want to get beaten like that and what we need to do is get back out on the training ground and make sure when we play Middlesbrough we're back to what has been doing us pretty well lately. "Starting Martinez would have been a bit of a risk because he still can't speak any English. Thomas has done a good job for us before and the balance of the back four was okay. It wasn't anything to do with their shape. It was sheer bad defending from individuals. We were out-muscled, which doesn't happen very often with my back lads. I've told the players exactly what I thought of their performance." Source: wba.co.uk
Chris Coleman: "They are like throwbacks to the old days (talking about strike pair Heidar Helguson and Brian McBride.) "I liken them to strikers I used to play against in my day. They are big strong boys, they attack the ball and don't give defenders a minute's peace. "If we put the ball in the box, they will get goals. They caused havoc at Manchester United last week and did the same today." Source: BBC Sport
The result is Albion's biggest ever away loss in the Premiership. It is also Fulham's best ever victory over Albion.
Williams Martinez makes his Albion first team debut.
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