Fulham ensured Charlton stayed bottom of the Premiership on Monday as they beat their fellow Londoners 2-1 to record their first win in four league matches.
Two goals in two minutes from US international Brian McBride and Claus Jensen -- against his former club -- gave Fulham breathing space while Charlton got one back late on through Darren Bent, who has scored six of their seven Premiership goals this season.
Defeat for Charlton was their fifth in a row and leaves them with just three points after eight matches, one adrift of Watford.
PHOTO: AP
Fulham manager Chris Coleman was full of praise for his two goalscorers, especially McBride.
"Brian is an absolute dream. His attitude is fantastic," Coleman purred.
"He is not quick but he is strong in the air, knows the game and can hold the ball up. I'm delighted he has started to score goals for us this season," added the former Wales international defender.
Charlton boss Iain Dowie, who succeeded Alan Curbishley in the summer after he resigned, said that everyone at the club had to stick together.
positives
"We've have some difficult times and now we need to look for the positives," said Dowie, who left former club Crystal Palace in controversial fashion having told owner Simon Jordan he wanted to move north but instead opting for another London club.
"We have to make sure everyone sticks together and stands up to be counted. We are in a dark time at the moment and we have to swing hard towards the light," added the former Northern Ireland international striker.
A match of few chances which reflected how out of sorts both sides are saw Fulham do more of the pressing and the lively McBride forced Carson into several saves.
It was no surprise, though, when McBride opened the hosts account in the 65th minute as he shot home from Jensen's freekick which had been awarded after a foul by Amady Faye on Wayne Routledge.
Charlton had barely recovered from that blow when they were hit by the killer one as Jensen volleyed brilliantly past Scott Carson.
Darren Bent then gave the visitors some hope 13 minutes from time with a right footed shot from inside the penalty area but it was to prove too little too late for the embattled London side.
Indeed they were fortunate not to lose by more as Carson had to save smartly from Tomasz Radzinski in the final minute.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS