Jeff Eckhardt’s seventh goal of the season was enough to secure a vital victory for promotion-chasing Fulham over Reading at Craven Cottage this afternoon.
The Royals managed to disrupt Fulham’s flow with a combative away display but were punished for switching off at a set piece when Eckhardt slipped away from his marker all too easily to nod in Gary Brazil’s seventieth-minute corner. Mick Gooding had previously typified the away side’s commitment as they made it to half time unscathed despite having to survive concerted spells of pressure from Don Mackay’s men by blocking a Brazil header in the box and then winning the ball off Mark Kelly to begin a break that culminated in Kevin Dillon shooting wastefully over the bar.
Dillon drilled another shot straight at Stannard shortly afterwards but Fulham finished the first period on the front foot. John Marshall switched the ball out to Brazil on the right and his cross almost fell for Kelly Haag, only for Keith McPherson to head away. Marshall then teed up Peter Scott, whose 25-yard strike was superbly stopped by a stretching Steve Francis. That save caused the Reading goalkeeper serious discomfort and he was replaced after the break by Ady Williams, usually a centre half.
The hosts failed to test the stand-in goalkeeper for much of the second half. Substitute Linden Jones made a superb sliding tackle to end a jinking run by Mark Kelly before Marshall’s low cross from the right was just out of reach of a sliding Haag and the clearest chance of the second period actually came at the other end with Stannard tipping away a shot from Craig Maskell.
Marshall made Reading pay from his corner five minutes later, picking out Eckhardt and the midfielder’s looping header extended Fulham’s unbeaten home run to four matches in a row.
FULHAM: Stannard; Eckhardt, Nebbeling, G. Thomas, Pike, Marshall (Hails 75), Morgan, Scott, M. Kelly, Brazil, Haag. Subs (not used): Tucker.
BOOKED: Stannard.
GOAL: Eckhardt (70).
READING: Francis (Williams 45); McPherson, Richardson, Dillon, Bailey, Gooding, D. Robinson, Streete (Jones 55), Maskell, McGhee, Barkus.
REFEREE: Roger Pawley (Northamptonshire).
ATTENDANCE: 3,499.
