Dempsey inflicts double dose of damage to Rovers

Fulham 3 Blackburn Rovers

Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn Rovers manager, should wait until after his heart operation tomorrow to watch this match on DVD, for it is sure to send his blood pressure through the roof.

Buoyed by their win over Bolton on Sunday – ending an unwelcome run of 10 successive away defeats – Allardyce, who was at home resting ahead of his angioplasty procedure, must have been feeling pretty confident. Yet, they capitulated here at Craven Cottage as their acute travel sickness returned with a vengeance.

The visitors had frustrated Fulham until the 43rd minute when Erik Nevland broke clear to score. Clint Dempsey then struck twice to inflict more misery on Rovers, whose display will not impress their manager.

Neil McDonald, standing in for Allardyce, said: "I'm not quite sure how Sam was following the game, whether he was watching it on the internet but I'm sure he'd be listening on the radio. I'm sure him, and his wife, won't be happy.

"I will speak to Sam later to see how he is. I'm sure he will be bitterly disappointed because we have lost the game. We had a chance when we were playing well and even at half-time when it was only 1-0.

"We have conceded three bad goals," McDonald added. "That is the disappointing thing because there has been a missed chance tonight."

It could have been a different story for Blackburn had Franco di Santo not been denied by a full-stretch Mark Schwarzer after only 90 seconds. Fulham also had an early chance to take the lead when Damien Duff crossed for Dempsey, but his header was tame and drifted wide of Paul Robinson's post.

Dempsey's missed opportunity set the tone for a largely uninspiring 30 minutes which followed, as the game descended into a mixture of misplaced passes and niggly fouls. Yet there was a single moment of brilliance and it led to Fulham's opening goal. Nevland started the move and exchanged passes with Bobby Zamora and then Duff before firing past Robinson at the near post.

Blackburn, to their credit, continued to press for an equaliser and Di Santo came close with a headed effort. But just as had happened in the first-half, Fulham again came back with an emphatic reply.

Duff's shot in the 67th minute sent Robinson sprawling yet Dempsey was on hand to poke the ball into the net. Blackburn's players appealed in vain to referee Stuart Attwell, but the official turned down their pleas for offside.

A minute later, Nevland should have killed the match off when he was played through on goal by Dempsey with only Robinson to beat, but the striker scuffed his effort wide of the post. Pascal Chimbonda squandered a late chance but there was still time for Dempsey to add a third with a neat turn and sharp finish.

The win lifts Fulham up to 10th in the Premier League and their manager, Roy Hodgson, said: "I am pleased. It was a sweet victory. I have seen us play more attractive football but you have to be able to play well against the teams who don't allow you to play how you like.

"If you want to beat these teams you have to deal with that and then ask them questions," Hodgson added. "Fortunately, we had the fight and character to stay in the game and then we had one moment in the first half where we scored a good goal."

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Greening (Etuhu, 81), Baird, Duff (Davies, 85), Zamora (Gera, 59), Nevland. Substitutes not used: Zuberbuhler (gk), Seol, Smalling, Dikgacoi.

Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): Robinson, Jacobsen, Samba, Nelsen, Chimbonda, Andrews, Dunn, Grella, Diouf, Di Santo (Kalinic, 66), Roberts (McCarthy, 77). Substitutes not used: Brown (gk), Pedersen, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Salgado.

Referee: S Attwell (Warwickshire).