Two late goals saw Fulham surrender an apparently comfortable cushion to draw their final pre-season friendly with Championship new boys Peterborough in the sunshine at London Road.
Clint Dempsey marked his return to pre-season action with the opening goal on 22 minutes when he converted a well-worked move after a clever one-two with Bobby Zamora. Zamora, whose inclusion could suggest that he will be staying at Craven Cottage despite Fulham agreeing a £5m fee for his services with Hull City, then scored twice in quick succession before the break. The first game from a beautiful through ball from Erik Nevland and Zamora’s second was a clinical finish from the edge of the box.
A calamatious mistake from substitute goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler gave Darren Ferguson’s man a route back into the match. The Swiss goalkeeper’s error gave Aaron McLean the easiest of opportunities to pull one back for the Posh. Peterborough were given further heart as Fulham failed to kill the game off with Nevland striking the post with a fine curler and substitute Seol Ki-Hyeon drilling a shot just wide.
Peterborough substitute George Boyd had a dramatic impact in the closing stages. First, he forced home from close-range after Gabriel Zakuani had prodded a corner towards goal and then he won a penalty after being brought down by Chris Smalling. The former Stevenage player dusted himself down to score from the spot himself and the hosts could have even claimed a remarkable victory during a frantic finale.
PETERBOROUGH (4-4-2): Lewis (McKeown 45); Martin (Coutts 70), Williams, Zakuani, Pearce; Lee, Frecklington (Crook 85), Green, Batt; McLean, Wright (Boyd 60).
GOALS: McLean (54), Boyd (85, pen 87).
FULHAM (4-4-2):Â Stockdale (Zuberbuhler 45); Pantsil, Konchesky, Hughes (Kelly 81), Hangeland (Smalling 81); Etuhu (Seol 60), Murphy (Harris 73), Dempsey (Baird 60), Gera; Nevland, Zamora (E. Johnson 71).Â
GOALS: Dempsey (22), Zamora (35, 45).
