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On Monday, the last matches of the 7th round were played, where the newcomers of the championship "Watford" in the penultimate place on the table met the injury-ridden "Fulham". In a dramatic six-goal "thriller", "Watford" failed to maintain their lead and had to settle for just one point.
3 – 3 22‘ [1 – 0] Marlon King 45‘ [2 – 0] Ashley Young 70‘ [2 – 1] Brian McBride 81‘ [2 – 2] Heidar Helguson 85‘ [2 – 3] Damien Francis (own goal) 88‘ [3 – 3] Ashley Young
Late on Monday evening, all attention was focused on the last matches of the 7th round, where in the small town of Watford, the home team met London's "Fulham". In the first half, most of the play was defensive - neither team managed to create sharp moments near the opponents' goal, and only in the 16th minute did the visitors break the deadlock - "Fulham" defender Moritz Volz shot from about 16 meters away, but the ball went wide.
Two minutes later, the hosts responded: Marlon King's shot from a distance was off target. Just four minutes later, the first goal of the match was scored by "Watford" after a blank start to the game. In the 22nd minute, Ashley Young on the left side made a great pass to M. King, who sent the ball into the top corner of "Fulham" goalkeeper Antti Niemi's net from just a few meters away.
After conceding a goal, "Fulham" immediately took the initiative. Michael Brown's long shot flew over the crossbar. In the 26th minute, "Watford" defender Gavin Mahon tried his luck from distance, but the ball again flew over the goal. Moments later, both teams had long-range inaccurate shots. After a long break, "Fulham" sent the ball from 28 meters towards the goal, but Papa Bouba Diop missed.
In the 15th second of the second half, Ashley Young increased his team's lead when he received a good pass from Hameur Bouazza and sent the ball into the top corner of A. Niemi's goal from three meters away. Two minutes later, "Fulham" launched a dangerous attack, with Liam Rosenior lifting the ball into the penalty area, where H. Helguson's header flew over the crossbar.
In the 59th minute, H. Helguson once again threatened the "Watford" goalkeeper Ben Foster, but the young goalkeeper, on loan from Man Utd, caught his shot this time. In the 66th minute, the hosts could have knocked out their opponents, but after a Tommy Smith pass, H. Bouazza missed with a header from a few meters away.
Utilizing the missed opportunity by the opponents, "Fulham" soon scored a goal. In the 70th minute, Wayne Routledge redirected the ball into the penalty area, where H. Helguson's knockdown was met by veteran Brian McBride, who sent the ball into the top corner of "Watford" goalkeeper's goal from almost 11 meters away.
Six minutes later, "Watford" launched a very threatening attack, with A. Young shooting from the right side over the goal. With just 8 minutes left to play in the match, "Fulham" forward H. Helguson equalized by redirecting the ball into B. Foster's goal after receiving a pass from the left side by Tomasz Radzinski.
In the last minutes of the match, both teams exchanged dramatic goals. In the 85th minute, Damien Francis redirected the ball into his own goal after H. Helguson's shot, but quickly recovering, the hosts switched to the attack and with three minutes left, A. Young scored the second goal in this match by sending the ball into the left top corner of the goal from 16 meters away.
Inspired by the goals, the teams tried to snatch the victory, but the referee's added time did not determine the winner of this dramatic duel: the match ended with a 3-3 draw, and the teams shared a point.
