Fulham boss Roy Hodgson sprang to the defence of striker Bobby Zamora whose glaring second-half miss almost cost his side dear against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Zamora skied a 47th-minute effort from six yards with the goal at his mercy after Clint Dempsey's initial effort had been parried into his path by Shay Given.

It was a miss destined to go down in bloopers compilations and looked to have swung the game in City's favour as Joleon Lescott and Martin Petrov swept Mark Hughes' men ahead.

But the lively Zamora played a full part in his side's improbable recovery with Damien Duff and Dempsey quickly responding with the goals which gave the Cottagers a deserved point.

Hodgson called the miss "horrific" and added: "Unfortunately people who watch on the TV will see the miss and they won't see the 96 minutes and 45 seconds in which he was absolutely magnificent.

"It should have been seen as the crowning moment of a great performance but instead it is going to be seen as a glaring miss and a blot on his copybook which is sad for him.

"But if you want a good example of the character and resilience of this team and its ability to bounce back, Bobby's performance in the last 30 minutes shows that."

It proved another frustrating afternoon for City who have now drawn their last three Barclays Premier League games, hitting their chances of establishing a top-four place.

Hughes admitted: "We were 2-0 to the good and we should have seen the game out but unfortunately we allowed them back in the game and given them a lift."

City, with Craig Bellamy restored to the starting line-up after a groin injury, oozed confidence from the start with Carlos Tevez bobbling the first chance wide.

But an early sign of Fulham's counter-attacking threat came in the 18th minute when Diomansy Kamara sprang the offside trap before appearing to hesitate and rolled the ball straight to Shay Given.

Emmanuel Adebayor was ticked off for making the most of a penalty appeal after falling under Stephen Kelly's challenge, before Kolo Toure and Nigel De Jong both came close.

Tevez and Adebayor came even closer before the break and City thought they had gone ahead when Micah Richards headed home a Martin Petrov corner - only for referee Kevin Friend to blow for a foul.

Zamora's miss looked set to cost City when Lescott helped an Adebayor shot over the line in crowded box in the 53rd minute then Petrov fired home after being fed from the right by Wayne Bridge.

But Hodgson's men were far from sunk and they struck back just two minutes later when Zamora chested down a ball from Kelly and Duff shot home from the edge of the box.

Dempsey rose highest to meet Greening's free-kick in the box and equalise in the 67th minute - a move which drew a stinging rebuke from Hughes.

He said: "It was how we dealt with balls into the box and a guy in Dempsey who is acknowledged as good in the air - and we haven't dealt with it."