Football Focus Highlight

It has taken some weeks but Fulham have at last rediscovered their swagger. The side have been in stuttering form ever since they thrashed Manchester United 3-0 at this ground just before Christmas and with injuries mounting, some wondered if they would be able to repeat such an eye-catching trick again any time soon.

Those fears can now be laid to rest. Roy Hodgson's men may have only beaten Burnley last night, but the job was done in wholly impressive style

Key to the victory was Bobby Zamora, once a figure of frustration for Fulham supporters but now undoubtedly their hero. On his return from illness, the striker terrorised Burnley and having created the second goal for his strike partner David Elm, got the third himself after half-time. The scoring was opened by Danny Murphy following a brief flurry from Burnley that suggested they could be about to secure their first away win of the season. Fulham, though, stamped on those dreams.




Their recent struggles in front of goal – Roy Hodgson's men have scored just once in their last five league games – meant the return of the top scorer Zamora was greatly welcomed in these parts. It took the striker some time, however, to get into the game due to a vibrant start from Burnley. Zamora did, though, eventually make his mark on eight minutes, cushioning Chris Baird's chip into the path of Damien Duff who dragged the resulting shot wide of the visitor's goal.

After further Burnley pressure Fulham came forward again and on 23 minutes took the lead. Nicky Shorey swept a pass towards David Elm at the edge of the area who, in turn, headed the ball into the path of Murphy. The Fulham captain was under pressure but showed enough composure to poke the ball past Brian Jensen in the Burnley goal.

The visitors suddenly found themselves being overwhelmed. Dickson Etuhu and Zamora both went close to doubling the their lead before Elm eventually did so, with a close-range shot on 31 minutes. It was the Swedish striker's first goal for the club since arriving last month.

Burnley's manager Brian Laws brought the winger Chris Eagles on in place of the central defender Leon Cort near the end of the first half in a bid to salvage something from this game. The admirable attacking intent proved negligible as Fulham simply picked up from where they left off before the interval. It took them less than five minutes of the second half to have a shot on goal and once again Zamora was involved, albeit rather fortunately.

The 29-year-old just happened to be in the right place as David Edgar's clearance ricocheted into his path but, having created space for himself, the striker's resulting low, curling shot was close enough and slow enough for Jensen to make the save.

That proved to be a warning shot as on 54 minutes Zamora found a way past the Dane with a free-kick from the edge of the area. Once again the effort was low and swerving, but this time strong enough for him to secure a 12th goal of the season.

Burnley were now struggling even more to assert themselves in the contest and the manner in which Andre Bikey hacked down Elm close to the far touchline summed up their frustration.

Zamora went off to a standing ovation on 72 minutes and was replaced by on-loan striker Stefano Okaka. And the Italian then almost got a fourth for Fulham on 79 minutes, but saw his shot charged down by Jensen.

Source: guardian.co.uk