© EuroFootball.com
On Monday, the last match of the 8th round of the English Premier League was played. In the late evening, "Fulham" hosted the absolute underdog of the championship, "Charlton," at their arena. Managed by Iain Dowie, "Charlton" suffered their seventh defeat and remains at the bottom of the league table.
2 - 1
65‘ [1 - 0] Brian McBride
68‘ [2 - 0] Claus Jensen
78‘ [2 - 1] Darren Bent
The guests started the match more actively. "Charlton" defender Dennis Rommedahl took a shot next to the goal, and shortly after, the Dane passed the ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but his low shot was caught by "Fulham" goalkeeper Antti Niemi. Later, D. Rommedahl passed the ball into the penalty area, but the shot by the most effective "Charlton" player, Darren Bent, flew over the crossbar.
However, the best opportunity came to Andy Reid. Again, D. Rommedahl deceived "Fulham" newcomer Franck Queudrue and passed the ball to A. Reid, but his shot from about 18 meters narrowly missed the post. The only chance also created by the hosts, when Heidar Helguson headed the ball to former US forward Brian McBride, but his powerful shot was slightly off target.
In the second half, a completely different scenario unfolded. Just a few minutes into the second half, B. McBride had another chance to score, but his shot after a pass from Tomasz Radzinski went straight into the hands of "Charlton" goalkeeper Scott Carson. But on the next opportunity, the American did not miss. In the 65th minute, after a penalty kick by Claus Jensen, the ball bounced straight to B. McBride's feet, who promptly sent the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal.
Unprepared for such consequences, the "Charlton" striker tried to save the match, but three minutes later, they conceded another goal. The scorer this time was Danish C. Jensen, who returned after a long break and, after a pass from Liam Rosenior, shot into the top left corner for the second time, beating the powerless S. Carson.
However, the guests still had many opportunities to change the course of the match. After a header pass from Bryan Hughes, the ball beside the post was sent by A. Reid, and in the 78th minute, "Charlton" managed to respond with one goal: Darren Bent scored his fifth goal in the championship after a pass from Jerome Thomas from 10 meters away, leaving no chance for A. Niemi. However, at the end of the match, "Charlton" could have equalized, but Hermann Hreidarsson missed his chance.
After this victory, "Fulham" rose to the tenth position on the league table, while "Charlton" continues to occupy the last position.
