Filed under: Fulham, Europa League (UEFA), Football, Match Reports
Martin Jol claimed revenge on Juande Ramos at Craven Cottage as Fulham took a massive step towards the group stages of the Europa League.It was the first time the pair faced each other since Ramos replaced Jol as Tottenham boss four years ago after a secret meeting with club officials.
But Ramos' Dnipro side were no match for Fulham, who take a lead to Ukraine next week following two goals from Clint Dempsey and another from Aaron Hughes.
GOALS:
38 mins: Matthew Briggs crosses to Aaron Hughes, who prods home at the near post for the opener.
43 mins: Clint Dempsey doubles the lead when he stabs home from Steve Sidwell's cross
49 mins: Dempsey adds another when he thumps home a header from a cross by Pajtim Kasami.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
4 mins: Briggs forces Jan Lastuvka into a save at the near post after a pacy run.
14 mins: Sidwell forces a save with a header from a corner.
54 mins: Dnipro manage their first shot Yevhen Konoplianka
90 mins: Nikola Kalinic goes close with a run and shot.
REACTION:
Fulham manager Jol made a reference to Ramos being given a "dizzying" offer to be manager four years ago. He was asked if he would ever consider managing in Ukraine:
"I heard they pay well. If you get a dizzyting offer you always have to think about it."
On the performance:
"If you don't take your chances it would have been 1-0, but we could have won 4-0 or 5-0. It was probably realistic but they had more shots on goal at the end than we would like."
On Dempsey:
"Clint is a special player, there is another who can score that many goals from the flank, that is a bonus for the team. I think it is a possible to play him as a lower No10. With Andrew Johnson it is 4-4-2 and with Clint Dempsey you can change it."
Dnipro manager Ramos felt his side deserved more from the game:
"The result was not a just result, it was too big for us. I don't think the scoreline reflected the performance. It was not a deserved result. We played well but we didn't deserve the result."
On Fulham:
"Fulham have a strong defence and a strong team, the difference was in centimetres."
On the tie:
"It will be difficult after this result but football is very unpredictable. We are trying but it doesn't mean we will."
WHAT IT MEANS:
Fulham are virtually in the Europa League group stages and were able to rest players ahead of their match against Wolves at the weekend.
FULHAM 3 (Hughes 38, Dempsey 43, 49) DNIPRO 0
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