Filed under: Fulham, Wolverhampton, Premier League, Football, Match Reports
Andy Johnson stepped off the bench and grabbed a dramatic leveller with his first touch of the ball as Fulham put the brakes on Wolves' bid to climb out of the bottom three at Molineux.Johnson's 80th minute strike cancelled out Steven Fletcher's first-half goal - his eighth of the season - but the goals only told part of the story on a feisty afternoon.
Fulham boss Mark Hughes was involved in an exchange of words with Wolves defender Richard Stearman as the players left the field at half-time and was banished from the dug-out for the final half-hour
To say the players had old scores to settle would be an understatement.
Wolves fans were quick to let Danny Murphy know exactly what they thought following his jibe earlier in the season that manager Mick McCarthy 'pumped up' his players to be over-physical.
Murphy was jeered whenever he touched the ball and former Aston Villa man Steve Sidwell also came in for his share of stick as home fans remembered his tackle on Adlene Guedioura last September, which left the Algerian with a broken leg.
But Fulham had their own issues after Bobby Zamora suffered a broken leg after being tacled by Karl Henry when the teams met at Craven Cottage last September.
Shades of the ill-feeling between the clubs emerged after 13 minutes when Stearman was booked after he lunged into a two-footed challenge on Sidwell.
Fulham should have gone ahead four minuters later but Clint Dempsey, at full stretch, turned Carlos Salcido's low cross over the bar from six yards.
But it was Wolves who stormed ahead five minutes later when skipper Henry crossed and Steven Fletcher outjumped Aaron Hughes to head home.
Fulham almost levelled at the start of the second-half when Wayne Hennessey fumbled Chris Baird's low cross but Henry hooked out a leg to deny Moussa Dembele an easy tap-in.
And they wasted another chance when Eidur Gudjohnsen sliced wide before being replaced by Zamora.
Hughes' frustrations boiled over when referee Michael Oliver ordered him from the dug-out to the stands after the Welshman kicked out at a water bottle in protest at a yellow card for Brede Hangeland.
But Johnson finally levelled less than a minute after replacing Clint Dempsey when the ball fell to him from Hangeland's long punt forward and he crashed it home before Hennessey rescued Wolves with an injury-time save to deny Gael Kakuta.
REACTION:
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy insists his side can still retain their Premiership status despite letting an opportunity to climb out of the bottom three slip away:
"Everybody is predicting what it will and won't take. If we are one goal or one point better off than three others then that will do and we can still do it. Then people can say we were lucky and we scraped it and stayed up. That will suit me fine."
On the late equaliser:
"Ten minutes is a long time in football. I don't think we dominated the game enough and they put on good players to try and get a result.We defended well but I was disappointed with the way we conceded.
On the outcome overall:
"Every point is important. I think there were other sides who would have been beaten in that game having conceded and we didn't.
On the future (and the fact that Wolves next three games are Midlands derbies):
"We have got five huge, great games to play. We haven't much time to breathe, we
have three games coming up in just over a week. But derbies are inspirational. It's about who gets inspired the most, who gets the luck, who gets the breaks."
On what he thinks it might take:
"Three wins would be lovely, but I'm not so sure it will take that. You tell me the other teams in the bottom three who are going to get two or three wins. Where are they going to come from?"
Fulham manager Mark Hughes on being sent to the stand:
"I was disappointed because I felt Brede had won the ball and the referee interpreted it in a different way and saw fit to book my player. "That's why I reacted. The fourth official played a part in my dismissal, probably for missing the bottle three times. So it was poor play from my point of view!"
On the outcome:
"Wolves scoring first made it a harder day for us. If we had taken any of the earlier chances we created we would have won the game. That would have forced Wolves to come out and we could have picked them off. But we gave them something to hold on to and protect and they fought for it."
On Andy Johnson's instant impact:
"I'm not looking to take the credit, but that's what you want when you make changes. You want them to make an impact. I think he was on for about eighteen seconds and did just what I wanted him to do. It was great for him. He's lacked goals lately. That's what's been missing from his game and that goal will do him a power of good."
WHAT IT MEANS:
A useful point for Wolves but it might have been so much better. their fate will now be determined by three big derbies, starting at Stoke on Tuesday, followed by Birmingham and then the ultimate Black Country showdown with West Brom on May 8th. Wolves still look a decent side - but three decent sides are going to be relegated from the ultra-competitive Premiership this season.
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