Man City 2-3 Fulham: Cottagers pull off miracle recovery

Published 00:00 28/04/08 By By David Mcdonnell

Ultimately, this stirring comeback win may not be enough to save Fulham from being consigned to the Championship this season.

It may, however, prove the result that finally persuades Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to part company with Sven Goran Eriksson this summer.

While jubilant Fulham basked in the glory of a marvellous fightback, Eriksson was left to ponder just how his side had let a 2-0 lead slip having been in total control.

It was the worst possible outcome for Eriksson, with Shinawatra watching from the stands for the first time in six weeks, having already warned the ex-England boss his position was under review.

With City assured of a top-10 finish and three points off their best-ever haul in the Premier League, replacing Eriksson after just one season in charge seems ludicrous.

But former Thai PM Shinawatra is not a man known for his patience, and this defeat is likely to have strengthened his belief - however crazy - that a change of manager is required.

Eriksson sat with Shinawatra at a club dinner on Saturday night and it is safe to say the Swede would have enjoyed a more comfortable time had his side not capitulated so embarrassingly.

The Swede claimed City need to spend big in the summer and told Shinawatra he wants at least £30million for his transfer kitty. But after already giving Eriksson £55m to spend in his debut season for such little reward, Shinawatra is unlikely to play ball.

"It's important to know how much money we can spend this summer," said Eriksson. "If we want to take the next step then we need more players.

"This team, even if we only spend a little in the summer, will be better next season. But it also depends on what the teams around us are going to do. I expect Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa to spend a lot."

The Swede claimed he was unconcerned at the speculation surrounding his position. "I don't need to speak about my future, Dr Thaksin does," he said. "I have a contract for two more years."

Fulham gave them - selves the unlikeliest of survival lifelines with a win which has set up next weekend's meeting with Birmingham as a potential relegation decider.

At one stage in the afternoon, with Fulham trailing 2-0 and Bolton and Birmingham leading, Roy Hodgson's side were relegated, staring at the end of their seven-year residency in the top flight.

But they emerged for the second half a different team, one with renewed purpose and a desire to prove they had not already joined Derby in English football's second tier.

"I knew what the half-time scores were in the other games that affected us, but I didn't know during the second half," said Hodgson.

"I never lost hope. I always thought if we get that one goal back, we'd be right back in it. And luckily we got it back early enough to give ourselves a chance. What happened in that last 20 minutes aged me and my staff a few years, but we can accept that after getting the win.

"The most important thing is that we've given ourselves a chance of staying up. It would have been very disappointing if our season had ended here today.

"We know a victory at home against Birmingham will send it down to the wire. Two or three games ago I'd have been happy to settle for that."

City were cruising to victory at 2-0 up through first-half goals from Stephen Ireland and Benjani, when they imploded with 20 minutes to go.

Hodgson's master-stroke was the introduction of Diomansy Kamara, Fulham's £6m record signing who had failed to convince in his debut season.

But Kamara took advantage of slack defending from Vedran Corluka in the 70th minute to pull a goal back which sparked Fulham's revival.

Nine minutes later Danny Murphy levelled from the penalty spot - at the second attempt - after Sun Jihai had needlessly brought down Erik Nevland.

City keeper Joe Hart had been in exceptional form, pulling off a series of superb saves, but his heroics were ultimately not enough to save his side from defeat. With City in disarray, Kamara struck the killer blow in added time with a fine finish. Only City, with their unique capacity for farce and self-parody, could have presided over what happened after the final whistle.

With the stadium half-empty, a cringe-worthy Generation Game-style competition took place in the centre circle, with a City fan winning a £15,000 car. Even he looked underwhelmed. After the flattest end to their last home game of the season, it was Alan Partridge-esque in its execution, as was the lap of honour performed by Sven and his players.

With Shinawatra looking on in dismay, it may turn out to have been Sven's final farewell to City's fans.

Mancity: Hart 8, Elano 6, Corluka 6, Ball 7, Sun 4, Fernandes 6, Johnson 6, Vassell 6 (Caicedo 80), Ireland 6 (Geovanni 56, 6), Petrov 8, Benjani 7.

Fulham: Keller 7, Stalteri 5, Hangeland 5, Hughes 6, Konchesky 5, Davies 6, Bullard 8, Murphy 7, Dempsey 6, Healy 6 (Kamara 64, 8), McBride 6 (Nevland 71, 6)

Referee: Mike Dean ATTENDANCE: 44,504

COMPUTER

MANCHESTER CITY

FULHAM

FIGHT LEFT IN FULHAM

BALL POSSESSION

52%

48%

FACE TO FACE

3 Corners 4

2 Offside 3

77% Pass completion 81%