Fulham 2 - 1 Everton

Duff magic snatches win

Updated: September 13, 2009, 8:26 AM UK

Damien Duff produced a moment of magic to secure a 2-1 win against Everton and kick-start Fulham's Barclays Premier League campaign.

• Moyes accuses ref over Neville blow

The visitors looked comfortable at half-time when they led through Tim Cahill's header but Paul Konchesky's deflected equaliser gave them momentum.

Republic of Ireland winger Duff beat Tim Howard with a powerful drive before the end for his first Fulham goal, giving them their first victory since the opening weekend of the season.

It leaves Everton in trouble as they only have three points from their first four league games, while Fulham can look towards mid-table.

Duff's contribution meant an exciting finale but it was a game short on action before that.

Both teams are in Europa League action this week - Fulham travel to CSKA Sofia and Everton host AEK Athens - and their success last season was built on tight defences, so it was no surprise that this clash was short on clear-cut chances.

Duff tried his luck from long range early on but Howard did not have to move to make the save, then Clint Dempsey went wide with a drive from a similar distance.

David Stockdale, the 23-year-old former York and Darlington goalkeeper, was making his debut and was called into action on the quarter-of-an-hour mark when Jack Rodwell's drive deflected off Aaron Hughes, with the rookie using his knees to block and his team-mates clearing the rebound.

Fulham midfielder Dempsey had a couple of efforts that did not trouble Howard - then the hosts fell behind in the 33rd minute through the familiar sight of a headed goal by Cahill.

Since arriving from Millwall, Cahill has now scored 38 goals for Everton - and exactly half of them have been with his head.

Danny Murphy was booked for a foul in the build-up, with Leighton Baines swinging over the free-kick and Cahill jumping above Dickson Etuhu to head past Stockdale, although he should have been flagged for offside.

It was the Australia midfielder's first strike of the season and he celebrated with his trademark boxing routine at the corner flag.

Leon Osman almost grabbed a second before the interval when he trapped Steven Pienaar's pass and went through on goal - but Hughes was back to make a last-ditch tackle.

Howard had gone untroubled for 45 minutes despite Fulham's frontline strikers returning from the sidelines.

Andrew Johnson came back from his collarbone injury to face his former club. He suffered the problem against Amkar Perm last month and will always have a deformity in his shoulder due to the problem, but he was fit enough to play.

Bobby Zamora partnered him in attack after coming back from an Achilles complaint - but the lack of understanding between the pair was illustrated by a comedy kick-off routine that gifted the ball to Everton.

That would all change in the second half. Johnson forced Howard into a save just after the restart following a sharp turn on the edge of the area, then Etuhu headed wide from Murphy's free-kick.

The fortuitous equaliser came in the 57th minute when Murphy's free-kick was blocked by the defensive wall. It rebounded to Konchesky, whose powerful drive deflected in off Sylvain Distin.

Phil Neville had brought down Etuhu for the free-kick leading up to the goal, then six minutes after the goal Etuhu caught the Everton skipper badly just below the left knee. John Heitinga came on for his debut as a replacement.

Duff's moment, his first goal since arriving from Newcastle, came 11 minutes from full-time. Zamora headed on a long ball and Johnson tapped out wide to Duff. The Irishman made tracks towards the penalty area, cut inside Baines and unleashed a powerful drive past Howard.

Stockdale saved a Marouane Fellaini header from point-blank range and Murphy cleared Joseph Yobo's follow-up shot off the line.

Hughes was also forced into a last-ditch tackle on Aiyegbeni Yakubu as Fulham held on.

Moyes accuses ref over Neville blow

Everton boss David Moyes accused referee Peter Walton of missing Dickson Etuhu's challenge that left Phil Neville with a gash on his knee during the defeat at Fulham.

Etuhu appeared to catch Neville with his studs as he followed through on a tackle.

"It was a bad miss for the referee to miss that,'' Moyes said. "In the football we play now it doesn't go on and I thought it warranted a free-kick and a yellow card. Phil has got a gash on his knee but he is not going to hospital. We will assess it later.''

After working with Etuhu at Preston, Moyes feels the midfielder would not deliberately injure an opponent. "I know Dickson quite well and I don't think he's that type of player,'' the Scot added. "But I thought he was late getting there.''

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson added: "I'm convinced there was no intent on Dickson's part. From what I understand it was the follow-through that caught Phil. It would be very disappointing if Dickson was accused of that because it was the ultimate 50-50 ball. We're really, really sorry it happened and wish Phil all the best.''

"We were better in the first half without being at our best,'' Moyes said. "But we're trying to integrate players and build confidence. Fulham upped the tempo in the second half and we didn't match them.''

Moyes was not helped by a hamstring injury to Louis Saha, while Aiyegbeni Yakubu still looked short of full fitness when he made a late appearance. Everton remain in the bottom three but Fulham boss Hodgson is refusing to read too much into the table after his side's second league win of the season.

"I really don't think league tables should be considered until 10 or 12 games into the season,'' he said. "It adds to the pressure and excitement but after four games it's too early.

"We're all human and get caught up in it and it does affect you. I've been preaching to the players that it's about where we are after 38 games, I've also been preaching to them that we have quality in our squad.''

Duff's moment of magic came 11 minutes from full-time when he cut inside Baines and unleashed a drive beyond Tim Howard. "It was a wonderful goal and he played well throughout the game,'' Hodgson said. "His crossing was good and it was nice to cap his second home game with a goal. It's important when you move clubs to show the fans immediately what you can do.''

Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy added: "We just kept going and worked hard. Thefirst half was very even but I thought we played with a better tempo in the second half, scoring two good goals. It's nice to get another win under our belts, especially at the Cottage.It gives us a bit of breathing space and we can look forward with confidence instead of thinking we need a win.''