Fulham 1 Chelsea 1CHELSEA'S PLOD back into Champions league contention has stalled. This derby had entered its final stages with the visitors ahead and contemplating joining the bottleneck beneath third place, behind Tottenham Hotspur only on a solitary goal scored, when their defence yielded to cast their challenge adrift. The equaliser shipped to Clint Dempsey seven minutes from time left Roberto Di Matteo's team in sixth place, their momentum checked.
This could yet prove a pivotal slip. If they had benefited from considerable luck to prevail against Wigan at the weekend, then neither could they really complain that Fulham merited parity at least from this breathless contest.
This squad feels stretched, limbs rather creaking towards the end of a draining campaign. They may have mustered a late rally after the equaliser, but that was born of desperation as a missed opportunity loomed.
Fulham may boast a relatively wretched recent record against their local rivals but they quickly appeared the fresher side. Chelsea’s three-prolonged assault on silverware and Champions League qualification is draining energy from their approach, so they must have drawn optimism to have retired at the break ahead.
The goal felt unexpected, Chelsea having been reduced to attempts from distance and appeals for a handball in the area when Ryan Bertrand’s ferocious shot struck Stephen Kelly on the wrist. The defender initially pleaded ignorance before, three minutes later, calling on the physio with the joint swelling up, his cover visibly blown.
As it was, the referee Mark Clattenburg proved more accommodating with a penalty award just before the interval when Danny Murphy lunged studs-up into a challenge with Salomon Kalou. There appeared to be some contact with both man and ball – the referee’s angle pointed more to the former – but, much to the home side’s fury, the penalty was awarded and, perhaps oddly, no caution issued. Murphy’s subsequent assertion that Clattenburg had actually awarded the spot-kick for a foul by Kelly, which was far less apparent, merely added to the confusion. Regardless, Frank Lampard duly trotted up to dispatch his 150th Premier League goal.
That they trailed felt harsh on Fulham. They had carried the greater threat, with zest in their play down the flanks and Moussa Dembele purring when granted time in possession through the middle. The Belgian exudes class, his interplay with Dempsey illuminating the team’s attacking play. Kevin Frei skimmed a shot towards the corner, only for Cech to turn it behind.
Yet, shaken by the timing of their concession in stoppage time at the end of the half, Fulham rather lulled upon the restart and invited further danger in the process. Lampard, dismayed that an apparent push by Brede Hangeland went ignored just as the penalty appeals began again, curled over the bar and Raul Meireles followed suit after a break downfield as the home side struggled to regain their initial rhythm.
Martin Jol’s side had re-emerged into the top half of the table at the weekend with victory at Bolton Wanderers, but this has become a fixture for the locals to dread in the modern era. Only once since 1979 have Chelsea been beaten by the Cottagers. A sense of fatalism was building, the sight of John Arne Riise fizzing a shot wide and so much approach play run aground upon the restored John Terry, Cahill and the soon to be suspended Branislav Ivanovic adding to the growing frustration.
Yet this derby was to serve up its late twist of fate. Cech had done well to turn aside Aaron Hughes’ near-post header but, from the corner, Dempsey thumped a header down and into the far corner off Cahill’s backside to restore parity.
Guardian Service
FULHAM: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, John Arne Riise, Duff, Murphy (Etuhu 74), Diarra (Orlando Sa 81), Frei (Kacaniklic 88), Dembele, Dempsey. Subs not used: Stockdale, Kasami, Senderos, Briggs. Booked: Murphy.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel, Meireles (Mata 70), Kalou, Lampard, Ramires (Drogba 83), Torres. Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Malouda, Bosingwa, Sturridge. Booked: Meireles, Cahill, Mikel.
Referee: M Clattenburg (Tyne Wear).
