Fulham 4 Juventus 1 (agg 5-4): Clint Dempsey stunner clinches famous
victory
They will talk about
it for years. The
night Fulham welcomed mighty
Juventus, conceded
a goal after a minute - and
then scored four to toss them
out of Europe.
Not since the days of Johnny
Haynes and George Cohen, or
Bobby Moore and George Best
have Fulham caused such a stir.
Juve been framed: Clint Dempsey scores with a
clever chip over keeper Antonio Chimenti
MATCH
FACTS
Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer 7; Kelly 7
(Dempsey
71, 7), Hangeland 7, Hughes 7, Konchesky 7; Duff 9, Baird 8, Etuhu 8,
Davies
7; Gera 9 (Riise 85); Zamora 9.
Booked: Konchesky.
Juventus (4-3-2-1): Chimenti 6;
Salihamidzic
5, Zebina 5, Cannavaro 5,
Grosso 6 (Del Piero 85); Camoranesi 5
(De
Ceglie 52, 5), Melo 5, Sissoko 5;
Diego 6, Candreva 6 (Grygera 29,
6);
Trezeguet 6.
Booked: Camoranesi, Diego, Melo.
Sent off:
Cannavaro, Zebina.
Man of the
match: Zoltan Gera.
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland).
They caused mayhem last night. If the Italian newspapers proclaimed
the death of Italian football when Milan were crushed 4-0 at Old
Trafford, what will they think this morning?
Just 15 years ago
Fulham were struggling to survive in the bottom tier of English football
but last night they comprehensively outplayed the two-time European
champions to achieve the most famous win in their 131-year history.
Elated manager Roy Hodgson said: 'I think it must come close to being
the biggest win in our history. I think it's a remarkable achievement
for the boys. We should do a Rocky Marciano and retire while the going's
good because it's not going to get any better.'
Sky high: Zoltan Gera jumps for joy after
levelling the tie on aggregate from the spot
The moment that
best defined
their supremacy arrived in the
closing stages, deep into stoppage
time. Bobby Zamora, killing time,
played the ball off the legs of
bewildered legendary Italian striker
Alessandro del Piero to win a
corner. That's when you know it's
your night.
It hadn't started like that.
Juventus had moved even further
clear in the tie with a goal that
might have killed the evening.
David Trezeguet's initial overhead
kick from a Hasan Salihamidzic
cross fell to Diego, who won a
tussle with Aaron Hughes and
Brede Hangeland and stabbed the
ball back to Trezeguet. The striker
made no mistake the second time,
recovering his balance to slot a
classy finish into the corner.
Gaining momentum: Zoltan Gera grabs his first of
the night
At Stamford Bridge 24 hours earlier,
Roy Hodgson had been mobbed
by the Italians of Inter Milan. Soon
we were reminded why. The former
Inter coach is revered in Italy and
the way his Fulham team responded
with pace and urgency further
revealed his qualities.
Before kick off, Zamora - watched
again by Fabio Capello - had
boasted about his plans to give
36-year-old World Cup winner Fabio
Cannavaro the run-around. Then
he did exactly that.
The striker sent Cannavaro
tumbling to the ground after seven
minutes and drove a right-foot shot
from a Paul Konchesky cross into
the back of the net.
Did you hear about the Zoltans? Fulham fan Hugh
Grant texts the score to his celebrity mates
Bristling
with attitude, Zamora
was at the heart of an encouraging first 20 minutes from Fulham. With
Damien Duff, who was rested for the first half of his side's 3-0 defeat
by Manchester United at the weekend, providing plenty of service from
the right wing, the striker looked every inch the powerful centre
forward.
In contrast Cannavaro, Italy's World Cup-winning
captain, was fortunate to escape censure for a deliberate push on Brede
Hangeland in the penalty box after 18 minutes.
The 6ft 5in Norway
defender looked set to head a Simon Davies corner past Antonio Chimenti
until Cannavaro gave him a knowing shove in the back.
Flattened: Zoltan Gera (left) was hauled down by
Fabio Cannavaro, with the Italian rewarded with an early bath for his
efforts
But the defender's luck ran out
after 27 minutes. Dutch referee
Bjorn Kuipers showed a straight red
card after Cannavaro found himself
the wrong side of Zoltan Gera and
tried to shove his way back into
position with the striker through on
goal after a pass from Zamora.
Juventus threw on experienced
Czech Republic defender Zdenek
Grygera to try and stem the flow of
Fulham attacks, but their defensive
midfielders were leaving the back four far too exposed. A Zamora
free-kick was heading for the top left-hand corner until Chimenti clawed
it away and Davies hit the crossbar from another set piece two minutes
later. Zamora had the opportunity to stab home the rebound from close
range but could not quite react quickly enough.
Fulham hit the
bar again courtesy of a Dickson Etuhu header, but went deservedly ahead
after 39 minutes when Gera beat his man to meet a Davies pass after an
intelligent flick-on from Zamora. It got even better at the start of the
second half. A cute back heel from Gera found Duff, whose cross hit
Diego's right hand.
Level pegging: Bobby Zamora makes it 1-1 on the
night
Kuipers pointed to the spot and
Gera's cool right-foot conversion
found the target to put Fulham level
on aggregate after 49 minutes.
Gera, who excelled once again in
the second striker role behind
Zamora, appealed for another
penalty after 61 minutes when
Paolo De Ceglie and Jonathan
Zebina clashed in the area to
squeeze out the 30-year-old.
With Fulham in the ascendancy,
Hodgson went for broke, sending Clint Dempsey on in place of right back
Stephen Kelly with 20 minutes to go.
The brave move nearly paid
off immediately, as the irrepressible Duff slid a ball across the
six-yard box only for Gera and Zamora to miss it by inches.
Off to a flyer: Mark Schwarzer fails to keep out
David Trezeguet's opener
And then the breakthrough came.
Time seemed to stand still at
Craven Cottage as three Juventus
defenders stood off Dempsey and
watched as he scooped a right foot
shot over Chimenti and into the
back of the net in front of an
ecstatic Hammersmith End.
Dempsey said: 'Nine times out of
10 a shot like that would not have
made it but sometimes you've got
to go for it. Luckily it worked
tonight.'
Juventus' only response was a
petulant kick at Duff by Zebina, for
which the defender earned a
straight red card in stoppage time.
This was Fulham's night - the
best in their 131-year history. From
the brink of relegation to the
quarter finals of the Europa League
in less than two years. Whoever
would have thought it?
