All Football

Fulham 2-0 Birmingham City

A Brian McBride header just after half time followed by an Erik Nevland strike has lifted Fulham out of the relegation zone and put survival in their own hands, while Birmingham look like going down with just a game to go…
Birmingham are second from bottom, as Reading have dropped to 17th following their loss against Tottenham Hotspur.

Fulham are up into 16th and were good value for their win, generally putting more pressure on their opponents and creating more chances in front of an enthusiastic Craven Cottage crowd.


Brian McBride headed home the first from a sensational Jimmy Bullard free-kick, and Nevland put the game beyond doubt late on, capitalising on poor defending from Radhi Jaidi.

First Half

Birmingham failed to impose themselves on the game, and after Fulham got over some early nerves, they began to dominate. McBride hit the bar with a great header, though had it gone in, he had already been flagged offside.

Maik Taylor was strong in the Birmingham goal and needed to be, as Bullard laid off a free-kick for Simon Davies, who lashed a shot at goal that Taylor somehow managed to keep from crashing into the back of the net.

However, Birmingham began to string some good passes together, and on the half hour mark, Mikael Forssell failed to control a Sebastian Larsson cross - an opportunity that, on recent form, you would have betted on him to score from.

Fulham’s Aaron Hughes was called into action to deny Forssell for a second time as he looked to convert a good pass from James McFadden into a vital goal.

Second Half

However, it was Fulham who came out in the second half on top once again and Bullard - at the centre of all the Cottagers’ attacks - was the key man once again.

His free-kick whipped in from the left found Brian McBride in the box, who finished with a trademark diving header to send the home fans into raptures.

Last week’s hero Diomansy Kamara almost doubled their lead with a fantastic run, but his finish was wasteful.

The Cottagers were refusing to rest on their 1-0 lead, as Clint Dempsey squandered a good chance, heading way over from a well-timed Simon Davies cross.

Having been dominated, Birmingham created an opening of their own and could have nicked the draw, but Radhi Jaidi headed wide from eight yards out.

Fulham were down the other end within seconds for substitute Erik Nevland to kill the game with a sweet finish and put Fulham’s survival in their own hands going into the final day, as they face a Portsmouth side bound to be focusing on their upcoming FA Cup final.

LINE-UPS

Fulham (4-4-2): Keller - Stalteri, Hughes, Hangeland, Koncheskey - Davies, Bullard (Andreasen, 88), Murphy, Dempsey - Kamara (Nevland, 67), McBride

Unused substitutes: Warner, Bocanegra, Healy.

Birmingham (4-4-2): Taylor - Kelly, Jaidi, Ridgewell (Queudrue, 45), Murphy - Larsson, Muamba, Johnson, Kapo (Zarate, 58) - Forssell (Jerome, 74), McFadden

Unused substitutes: Doyle, Parnaby.

GOALS

1-0 (Fulham) McBride, 51
2-0 (Fulham) Nevland, 87

BOOKINGS

(Fulham) Stalteri, 45
(Birmingham) Muamba, 49
(Fulham) Davies, 70
(Birmingham) Queudrue, 86
(Birmingham) Jerome, 88
(Birmingham) Jaidi, 90

Referee: Chris Foy

Attendance: 25,308

Sulmaan Ahmad

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