Fulham ... 1 Middlesbrough ... 0 Fulham gained short-term comfort to offset their long-term anxieties yesterday when a goal from Sean Davis brought Jean Tigana's side their first win in five Premiership matches and lifted them eight points clear of the bottom three.
It was largely a case of a team who may soon have no home to go to beating opponents going nowhere away from home. For Middlesbrough this was an eighth successive league defeat on the road, and they have not scored away in the Premiership for 12½ hours.
At least Boro have a ground to call their own. Grateful though Fulham supporters were for this win, the group that mounted a demonstration outside the ground in protest at plans to sell Craven Cottage to developers could hardly have been mollified by the response of the chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed.
Writing in the match programme, Al Fayed made no reference to the possible sale but did declare he was not prepared to bankroll the club indefinitely. He might have deep pockets, he said, "but I am not a fool with my money and to continue pouring funds into Fulham for very little financial return is nothing short of folly"
Until Davis scored seven minutes before half-time Fulham's football was tentative, but once ahead the confidence flowed into their play and but for Mark Schwarzer's goalkeeping and the crossbar, the win would have been even more emphatic.
Once Davis and Sylvain Legwinski began to advance regularly from midfield midway through the first half Fulham began to sense a goal. Two more close shaves and then they were ahead in the 38th minute. A quick through ball from Legwinski caught Middlesbrough square and Davis strode through to clip the ball past Schwarzer.
Fulham's lead began to look fragile as half-time approached. In the 41st minute Maik Taylor misread a long, high ball from Gareth Southgate which bounced over the goalkeeper and was heading towards the net until Martin Djetou cleared it.
Had Massimo Maccarone not blocked Steed Malbranque's shot by the near post Fulham would have increased their lead two minutes into the second half, and just past the hour a header from Sava rebounded from the bar. The introduction of Joseph-Desire Job and Szilard Nemeth gave Boro a marginally weightier presence, but their finishing still lacked conviction.
FULHAM: Taylor, Finnan, Brevett, Djetou, Goma, Goldbaek, Legwinski, Davis, Malbranque, Sava (Boa Morte 90), Marlet. Subs Not Used: Herrera, Melville, Collins, Hammond. Goal: Davis 39.
MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer, Queudrue, Southgate, Vidmar, Parnaby, Geremi, Wilson, Wilkshire (Job 45), Greening, Maccarone, Whelan (Nemeth 64). Subs Not Used: Crossley, Boksic, Cooper. Booked: Southgate.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire)
