Goals from Danny Murphy and Zoltan Gera looked to have given Fulham three points after Carlton Cole had given the home side the lead and Kagisho Dikgacoi was sent off in a dramatic encounter at Upton Park. Unfortunately a late equaliser from Junior Stanislas ensured the points were shared.

Getting off to something of a slow start, nether side look particularly threatening in the opening exchanges of this London derby.

The first opportunity of the game fell to Carlton Cole who found himself in a good shooting position - but he fired over from the edge of the area.

The home side took the lead in the 16th minute after Carlton Cole headed Alessandro Diamante’s free-kick in from close range after Brede Hangeland picked up a yellow card for bringing down Julien Faubert out wide. The big striker rose in the area to nod past Schwarzer.

The Whites had another scare moments later when a West Ham corner was headed just wide of the post by James Tomkins.

A fine piece of play from Fulham on 22 minutes handed Andrew Johnson a golden opportunity to put the Whites back on level terms. The ball was fed into Johnson’s path following a quickly-taken free kick, but with only the keeper to beat, Johnson side-footed wide of the target.

Fulham continued in their attempts to thread their way through the West Ham back line, but despite working the ball into a number of promising positions, they were unable to pull the trigger.

A good save from Mark Schwarzer on 35 minutes denied Scott Parker’s powerful low drive after another West Ham attack had the Whites' backline working at full capacity.

Fulham were dealt a blow on 40 minutes when Kagisho Dikgacoi was shown a straight red card after tangling with Scott Parker in what looked like an innocuous midfield contest. Following a lengthy break in play, in which the referee consulted with his officials, the red card was produced.

Roy Hodgson moved Zoltan Gera into a central midfield position with Andrew Johnson moving out to the right wing in a reshuffle following the dismissal – leaving Diomansy Kamara the sole striker.

The Hammers tried to make their numerical advantage count in the final moments of the first-half but Fulham held on for the interval. Hodgson replaced Andrew Johnson with Chris Baird at half-time. Dempsey and Gera reverted back to their wide positions and Baird paired up with Murphy in the middle.

Fulham got back into the game almost immediately from the restart. Diomansy Kamara got into a good position in the West Ham area and was brought to ground by Matthew Upson. Danny Murphy calmly stepped up and sent Robert Green the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Despite being a man down Fulham were heroically carrying the game to West Ham and they amazingly took the lead on 56 minutes when Zoltan Gera volleyed Paul Konchesky’s corner into the net.

Leading the line on his own, Diomansy Kamara was performing admirably, maintaining possession, running well with the ball and drawing a number of fouls from the opposition.

As the second-half progressed, the frustration in the home crowd was palpable as West Ham struggled to break down a well organised Fulham midfield and defence. The addition of Chris Baird to the midfield certainly had the desired effect – adding good defensive mobility and bite.

The home side were only able to muster a few long-range shots on Schwarzer’s goal but none troubled the Fulham keeper.

Fulham almost added a third on 80 minutes when a counter attack led by Gera and Kamara resulted in Kamara cutting across the edge of the penalty area before feeding a pass to Dempsey, whose shot was saved by Green low to his right.

Roy Hodgson replaced Kamara, who had worked tirelessly, with Eddie Johnson as the Whites entered the final ten minutes of play. 

The final change of the match from Hodgson saw Bjorn Helge Riise come on for Dempsey, who had picked up a knock.

The home side got back on equal terms in added time when Junior Stanislas’ shot was deflected past Schwarzer by Aaron Hughes. Eddie Johnson then missed a fine opportunity to put the Whites back in front when he scuffed wide with the goal at his mercy in the final seconds.