ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham 1 Newcastle Utd 0:THE TRAVELLING Newcastle supporters jeered him relentlessly for having the temerity to leave them. It was always going to be the way. There can be no doubting football's tribal loyalties. But this was not the post-script to Andy Carroll's defection to Liverpool, rather the tale of Damien Duff's evening against his former club.
Duff is not fondly remembered at St James’ Park and his every touch drew boos from the visiting enclosure. But the Fulham winger revelled in the last laugh when his smart second-half finish gave his team all three points and helped them to maintain their recent momentum.
The goal was Route One. Danny Murphy’s high ball caught out Jose Enrique and Duff muscled in to settle a contest that might earlier have had the Sky executives cursing, with the mikes turned off.
Where the first-half had been drab, the second was lively and Fulham might have added to Duff’s goal but for Steve Harper saves from the debutant Gael Kakuta, who appeared as a 71st minute substitute, Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele.
Carroll’s shadow had loomed large over this fixture; the build-up to it for Newcastle had been marked by shock and recrimination. Whose version of events did the supporters believe, Pardew’s and that of the club or Carroll’s? ‘Judas Carroll’ was one view on a banner in the away end.
It was easy to forget that Carroll had not played for Newcastle in January and he had not been expected to feature for at least another month because of a thigh injury. In his absence, the team had taken eight points from an available 12 and it might have been all 12 but for last-minute equalisers.
Pardew’s men were charged with putting the off-field distractions behind them. The last thing that Pardew needed was to lose another striker but, following a shuddering aerial collision with Steve Sidwell in the 13th minute, Shola Ameobi was forced off. One or two Newcastle players were unhappy, feeling Sidwell had caught him with a stray elbow.
Newcastle’s travelling fans amused themselves by booing Duff’s every touch. Duff ought to have scored on two occasions after the break, the first after he robbed Jose Enrique and raced away only to be tackled by Williamson and the second, when he dragged woefully wide after Dempsey had got through.
There was greater intensity, particularly from Fulham, however, and after Dempsey had forced Harper to tip over the crossbar, Duff struck.
Guardian Service
FULHAM:Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Baird, Dempsey, Sidwell, Murphy (Gera 87), Duff (Davies 87), Andrew Johnson (Kakuta 71), Dembele. Subs not used: Stockdale, Salcido, Kamara, Greening.
NEWCASTLE UTD:Harper, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Barton, Nolan, Guthrie, Gutierrez, Best (Lovenkrands 72), Ameobi (Ranger 13). Subs not used: Krul, Campbell, Perch, Ferguson, Richardson. Booked: Simpson, Guthrie, Nolan.
Referee:Mike Jones (Cheshire).
