Fulham 3 West Bromwich Albion 0 - match report
Jan 4 2011 PA Sport
Scott Carson made another high-profile mistake to set Fulham on course for a victory that increased the pressure on the Baggies at the wrong end of the Barclays Premier League.
Carson got both hands to Simon Davies' 30-yard drive on the brink of half-time but could only deflect the ball into his own net.
West Brom's new-look defence was then exposed after the break as Fulham cruised to a first home win in six attempts with headed goals from Clint Dempsey and Brede Hangeland.
While Fulham climbed above West Brom into 13th place to relieve some of the pressure on manager Mark Hughes, the Baggies' slump continued.
A fifth consecutive defeat represented their worst run in six years and having been eighth before Christmas they now hover just two points above the relegation zone.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo welcomed Gonzalo Jara back from suspension while James Hurst and Gianni Zuiverloon also came into the back four.
Fulham were without goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was away on international duty, and injured striker Andrew Johnson but that gave Diomansy Kamara a chance against his old club.
The Senegal striker almost blasted Fulham ahead in the opening minutes after a brilliant piece of control in the box.
Kamara pulled Chris Baird's long ball out of the air with a deft touch and turned to fire a low shot, which Carson did well to block.
West Brom had their moments in the first half and striker Peter Odemwingie forced Fulham keeper David Stockdale into action with a low deflected shot from the edge of the box.
But Fulham were on top of a lively encounter and the visitors' defence was struggling to contain Kamara, who cut inside Zuiverloon and laid the ball off for Dempsey.
The American went to ground in the box under a challenge from Youssuf Mulumbu but referee Martin Atkinson waved away Fulham's penalty appeals.
At the other end, Jerome Thomas escaped the Fulham defence with an angled run but his shot went straight at Stockdale and John Pantsil, whose mistake had led to the chance, cleared with an overhead kick.
Marek Cech went down injured after a challenge from Pantsil and had to be replaced by Nicky Shorey after half an hour.
While the Slovakian was off receiving treatment, Dempsey did well to ride two challenges and bring the ball down in the box but his shot was blocked.
West Brom's nervous defensive display continued. Hurst failed to deal with Pantsil's long cross, allowing the ball to fall into Davies' path but the Welsh midfielder's volley fizzed across goal and wide.
