Fulham midfielder Sean Davis was stretchered off injured as the Cottagers began their Austrian tour with a 4-1 win over ASK Voitsberg.
The former England under-21 international, who has been the subject of two bids from Everton, twisted his ankle as he made a sliding tackle after coming on as a second-half substitute in Fulham’s third pre-season warm-up match. “At this stage we don’t know the extent of the injury, but he’s going to be assessed by the medical team on Thursday,” said assistant manager Steve Kean.
“He stood up, was able to put weight on it and jog around, but it was too painful to continue so we took him off as a precaution,” Kean added. “Hopefully no serious damage has been done. He’ll keep his knee elevated and iced – if need be we’ll carry out a scan.”
The Premiership side enjoyed an easy win, playing some flowing football as they raced into a 3-0 half-time lead. Argentine striker Facundo Sava found the net for the third game in the row, pouncing after Voitsberg’s backline had failed to clear, and forcing the ball over the line from close range. There was some initial confusion over whether Sava’s shot had crossed the line, with Barry Hayles following up to make sure, but the assistant referee’s flag confirmed that Sava had scored the goal.
French international Steve Marlet, making his first appearance since helping his country to win the Confederations Cup in June, scored the second, beating the goalkeeper with an impressive finish after latching onto Sava’s intelligent downward header. Marlet played out wide on the right hand side of midfield and fitted into the unfamiliar role with little difficulty, but was replaced by young striker Elvis Hammond after just 31 minutes. Hammond scored the third after being found by another through ball and placed the ball effortlessly part the onrushing goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
Louis Saha, who led the line after a flurry of second half substitutes, scored Fulham’s fourth from the penalty spot after 68 minutes, after he was felled in the box. Voitsberg scored a late consolation from the spot but the result and performance will have pleased new Fulham manager Chris Coleman, who continued to experiment, including both French trialist Jerome Bonnisel and Dean Leacock.
FULHAM (4-4-2): Taylor (van der Sar 45); Hudson (Green 45, Djetou 60), Bonnisel (Harley 45), Leacock (Hudson 45), Knight (Goma 60); Marlet (Hammond 31), Buari (Davis 60, Clark 68), Inamoto (Legwinski 60), Rehman (Boa Morte 60); Hayles (Saha 58), Sava (Malbranque 60).
GOALS: Sava (7), Marlet (24), Hammond (35), Saha (pen 69).
ATTENDANCE: 400
