Eddie’s men hold Al Fayed stars to a stalemate (From Thisisdorset)

Eddie’s men hold Al Fayed stars to a stalemate

7:00am Wednesday 22nd July 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(15)

By Neil Perrett »

BOSS Eddie Howe will have taken plenty of positives as Cherries held their illustrious Premier League opponents to an entertaining stalemate at Dean Court last night.

Cherries were neither outclassed nor overawed by the big-spending London outfit as their pre-season campaign gathered momentum with another solid display.

And on a night when the boys from the corner shop met the aristocrats who are bankrolled by Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, it was Cherries who were cashing in their reward vouchers.

Cherries were on the back foot in the early stages with Fulham striker Andy Johnson going close to drawing first blood when his low, driven effort flashed past the upright.

And after Zoltan Gera had seized on a stray clearance from Warren Cummings, the Hungarian saw his fierce shot acrobatically parried by Cherries goalkeeper Shwan Jalal.

Cherries responded through Jeff Goulding, the striker twice trying his luck from distance inside the opening seven minutes.

But after clipping his first effort past the angle of post and crossbar, Goulding saw his second chance charged down by Fulham defender Aaron Hughes.

Cherries continued to press and Brett Pitman went close to breaking the deadlock when David Stockdale superbly kept out his arrow-like free kick.

Fulham’s back-up goalkeeper was forced to scurry across his line and save one handed after Pitman’s strike had looked destined for the bottom corner.

As play switched to the opposite end, Danny Murphy fired over before the lively Goulding dragged wide an ambitious shot from 30 yards.

Jalal raced off his line to save bravely at the feet of Erik Nevland, the Cherries goalkeeper reaping the rewards after anticipating Johnson’s clever through ball.

The visitors began to up the tempo and only a saving block on the line from Ryan Garry came between Fulham and the opener midway through the first half.

Garry was perfectly placed to prevent Nevland’s shot rolling into the back of the net after the Norwegian had traded passes with Johnson.

Murphy again tried his luck from distance, only to see his dipping effort clear the crossbar, before Cummings hacked away Dickson Etuhu’s shot after Johnson had again provided the assist.

Goulding and Jason Pearce both made way at the interval with Steve Fletcher coming on up front and Joe Partington slotting in alongside Garry at the back. Pascal Zuberbuhler, on as a half-time substitute for Stockdale, was almost beaten by Pitman’s effort, the striker’s left-foot volley looping over the Swiss goalkeeper – but also over the crossbar.

Luke Ruddick, who lined up for Salisbury against Cherries last week, came on as a 60th-minute replacement for Alton Thelwell after being handed a chance to impress boss Howe.

Murphy wasted a golden opportunity to test Jalal when he blazed his 25-yard free kick from a central position high into the Kings Park lorry park.

Seol then hared into the 18-yard box after capitalising on Ruddick’s mistake, only for Partington to deny him when he deflected the South Korean’s shot out for a corner.

With Garry and Partington remaining solid at the back, Cherries defended resolutely as Fulham attacked with verve in search of a goal.

But the hosts had a loud penalty appeal waved away after Chris Smalling had appeared to handle Sammy Igoe’s cross five minutes from time and Andre Costa almost grabbed a dramatic late winner when his shot fizzed past the post in injury time.

Cherries: Jalal (Pryce, 75), Thelwell (Ruddick, 60), Garry (Broadhurst, 67), Pearce (Partington, h-t), Cummings, Feeney (Costa, 67), Molesley (Browne, 73), Robinson, Igoe, Goulding (Fletcher, h-t), Pitman (Smith, 78).

Fulham: Stockdale (Zuberbuhler, h-t), Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland (Smalling, 65), Konchesky (Pantsil, 65), Gera (Stoor, 60), Murphy (Saunders, 85), Etuhu (Andranik, 60), Seol, Johnson (E Johnson, h-t), Nevland (Kamara, h-t). Referee: Keith Stroud (Southampton)

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(15)