Goals from Clint Dempsey and Alexey Smertin ensure victory for Fulham
Match Summary
Fulham came back from a goal down to record their second win of the pre-season campaign. The Whites got off to a bad start when the home side took the lead in the third minute through Jake Robinson. Fulham struggled to find their range in the first half yet they reached the interval level courtesy of a Clint Dempsey goal.
Lawrie Sanchez made a host of changes to the second half starting line-up and the Whites certainly looked a more potent attacking threat after the break. Another influential performance from Alexey Smertin, topped off by a well taken goal, helped guide Fulham to victory.
First Half Starting Line-Up
First Half Action
3 minutes – BRIGHTON GOAL, ROBINSON
Jake Robinson gave Brighton an early lead after Fulham failed to deal with a deep Dean Cox corner. The ball was nodded back into the danger area and Robinson was on hand to fire past Niemi.
10 minutes
The Whites still looked to be having difficulty in breaking out of their own half and the home side could have doubled their lead when Guy Butters was allowed a shooting opportunity, fortunately his effort spun off Aaron Hughes.
12 Minutes
Brian McBride almost got the Whites back to level pegging when he turned on the edge of the penalty area and struck a low shot against Kuipers’ right hand post.
16 minutes
Brian McBride was, once again, demonstrating his aerial prowess by winning a number of important headers and directing them expertly to his attacking team-mates.
20 minutes
Simon Davies and Steven Davis combined well with a neat passing interchange in midfield which set the Northern Ireland international away down the inside right channel. Davis looked to feed to ball into the path of David Healy unfortunately the striker had just strayed offside.
24 minutes
The home side managed to break past Fulham’s midfield line. The attack lost much of its momentum upon reaching the edge of Fulham’s penalty area, however Alex Revell was still able to fire a shot which Niemi gathered at the second attempt.
25 minutes
Michael Kuipers produced a world class save to deny Clint Dempsey’s downward header. The Seagulls’ goalkeeper reacted sharply to his right to claw to ball around the post.
25 minutes (Fulham substitution)
Antti Niemi OFF – Tony Warner ON
39 minutes
The impressive Simon Davies intercepted a Joel Lynch pass before feeding the ball to the lurking Brian McBride on the edge of the box. The American striker was unfortunate in that his first touch allowed the surrounding defenders to close in, restricting McBride to a tame shot. Shortly after, Papa Bouba Diop forced Kuipers into action when hit a fierce 25 yard shot.
44 minutes – FULHAM GOAL, DEMPSEY
Fulham got back on level terms through Clint Dempsey. The American international seized upon a loose ball after Diop had caused panic in the Brighton area and calmly rounded Kuipers before slotting into an empty net.
Second Half Starting Line-Up
Second Half Action
47 minutes
Diomansy Kamara’s speed got him clear down the right hand side before he squared the ball into the path of Moritz Volz whose powerful shot was charged down.
49 minutes
The home side made a strong start to the second half and Nicky Forster went close with an angled drive across the face of goal.
52 minutes
A misunderstanding between Zat Knight and Moritz Volz saw Fulham’s defence caught out of position as the ball was fed to the right wing. Robinson managed to find space and fire a shot goal wards which Knight had to divert over the bar.
60 minutes
Diomansy Kamara certainly looked to be enjoying his time on the pitch. The former West Brom front man was often dropping back to receive the ball from midfield to play his colleagues in behind the Brighton back line.
64 minutes
Fulham were starting to look more comfortable in possession with the midfield unit in particular finding space well.
71 minutes – GOAL FULHAM, SMERTIN
The Whites finally reaped the reward their greater attacking initiative deserved. Once again, Diomansy Kamara had the Brighton defence on the back foot. The Senegalese international’s shot was charged out only to fall to Smertin, who drilled a firm shot into the net.
74 minutes
Following his goal Smertin’s influence was steadily growing as he directed play with great composure and intelligence in the middle third.
85 minutes
The physical presence of Brighton substitute, Bas Savage was giving the Fulham back line a new problem to ponder as he, on numerous occasions, got into dangerous positions.
89 minutes
Dean Hammond went close to scoring an equaliser when he rose highest at the back post to head just over the bar.
