Wolverhampton Wanderers ended Fulham’s one hundred per cent start to the season as they held the Division One leaders to a goalless draw at Molineux this season.
Jean Tigana’s side had stitched together eleven wins to move clear at the top of the table but they were frustrated this afternoon against one of their bogey teams – with Fulham’s last league defeat having come at Wolves back in April. The hosts produced a far more spirited showing than they had managed in the midweek capitulation at local rivals West Brom and defended diligently for the full ninety minutes.
Fulham still created the clearer chances and came the closest to breaking the deadlock when right back Steve Finnan saw his clever chip bounce back off the underside of the crossbar and away to safety with eighteen minutes to go. But the Cottagers certainly didn’t have it their own way as Wolves penned them back for significant sections of the first half – even if the hosts’ best efforts were largely from long range.
Tony Dining tested Maik Taylor with a free-kick from 25 yards but proved to be less potent from closer in, firing tamely at the Northern Ireland goalkeeper when he found space just outside the penalty area. The recalled Temuri Ketsbaia tried his luck from distance on a number of occasions but was wasteful with his shooting. The home side did ride their luck when referee David Laws refused to award a penalty after Barry Hayles was clearly upended in the box by Kevin Muscat. To add insult to injury, Hayles was later booked for persistent diving.
Fulham continued to apply pressure in the first half. Defender Ludovic Pollitt bravely blocked a Louis Saha shot, before Fabrice Fernandes curled an effort wide of goal from about fifteen yards out and Saha was just off-target with a header. Before the half time whistle, however, Wolverhampton offered a reminder of their enduring threat as Muscat extended Taylor with a powerful drive from around 25 yards out.
Muscat saw another long-range strike deflect wide off Chris Coleman as Wolves flexed their muscles midway through the second half, but Fulham finished in the ascendancy. The Londoners were unable to find a winner despite considerable late pressure with Michael Oakes doing well to claw away a free-kick from Bjarne Goldbaek that looked as if it was going to nestle in the far corner. The Wolves goalkeeper was then rescued by the woodwork having been left stranded by Finnan’s intelligent finish – and the game ended all square after a succession of yellow cards disrupted any rhythm in the closing stages.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (4-4-2): Oakes; Muscat, Naylor, Pollet, Emblen (Proudlock 80), Bazeley; Osborn, Lescott, Dinning; Ketsbaia, Sinton (Camara 83). Subs (not used): Stowell, Peacock, Robinson.
BOOKED: Pollet, Dinning, Ketsbaia, Osborn.
FULHAM (4-4-2): Taylor; Finnan, Brevett, Melville, Coleman; J. Collins, Clark, Goldbaek, Fernandes; Saha (Boa Morte 59), Hayles. Subs (not used): Hahnemann, Symons, Davis, Trollope.
BOOKED: Hayles, Boa Morte.
REFEREE: David Laws (Whitley Bay).
ATTENDANCE: 21,080.
