Fulham let it slip in stoppage time

Fulham 0 Hull City 1: MANUCHO pounced deep into stoppage time to clinch a dramatic victory for Hull at Craven Cottage last night.

Hull were under siege for most of the second half until Manucho combined with fellow substitute Richard Garcia, who had been on the pitch for two minutes, to secure an unlikely three points.

Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson, Clint Dempsey and Simon Davies should have put the Cottagers out of sight 20 minutes into the second half but failed to convert.

Hull keeper Matt Duke had a major hand in their downfall, keeping out Dempsey and Johnson with superb saves, but Zamora will have nightmares over his botched three-yard tap in.

A solitary win in their last 18 Premier League encounters had sent Hull into freefall but last night’s victory has put them five points clear of the drop zone.

Hull manager Phil Brown, who saw Ian Ashbee, Craig Fagan and Michael Turner pass fitness tests, buried the hatchet with Geovanni by including the Brazilian in his starting line-up.

Geovanni reacted angrily at being substituted in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Blackburn, staring aggressively at Brown and ranting as he took his seat on the bench.

He later issued an apology and Brown refused to make an example of him – just as well as his key playmaker was Hull’s best player on the pitch.

Fired up, Geovanni was in the thick of the early action, producing a niggly challenge on John Pantsil and then firing a free-kick a hair’s breadth wide of the left post.

Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer dealt with a looping header by former Cottagers target Daniel Cousin as Hull continued to press. The visitors’ goal came under pressure for the first time in the 12th minute when Zamora jinked his way into a shooting position only to fire wide.

For all Fulham’s dominance the score was still level and in the final 15 minutes the balance of power began to shift. The decisive blow came from Hull deep into injury time with Garcia picking out Manucho for the Angolan to bundle home.

FULHAM: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson, Zamora (Kamara 89). Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Gera, Dacourt, Stoor, Kallio. Booked: Hangeland, Etuhu, Davies.

HULL: Duke, Zayatte, Turner, Gardner, Kilbane, Mendy (Garcia 89), Ashbee, Ricketts, Geovanni (Barmby 90), Fagan, Cousin (Manucho 76). Subs Not Used: Myhill, Hughes, France, Halmosi. Booked: Geovanni. Goals: Manucho 90.

Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).