Fulham demolished Bolton 3-0 at ecstatic Craven Cottage on Tuesday to
mathematically secure their Premiership status and spark dreams of an Intertoto
Cup campaign.
Forgotten midfielder Bjarne Goldbaek hit his first goal of the season in the
42nd minute, putting the Londoners on the road to victory.
The Dane - starting his first match since January due to Luis Boa Morte's knee
injury - cracked in a fine 20-yard drive.
And two fine goals in four minutes late on wrapped up the three-point haul,
taking the Cottagers out of reach of third-bottom Ipswich and level on points
with fellow Intertoto hopefuls Everton.
Steve Marlet scored number two with a majestic 72nd-minute curler - and Barry
Hayles proved Fulham really have rediscovered their scoring touch when he raced
clear and fired past the helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen four minutes later.
Fulham's hardline anti-alcohol boss Jean Tigana played Sean Davis - despite
the midfielder being found guilty of drink-driving earlier today, resulting in a
12-month ban from the roads.
The 22-year-old, who was fined £600 and ordered to pay £55 costs in court, was
also hit by a maximum two-week fine by Tigana, who named him in his side for the
penultimate match at Craven Cottage before next season's £70million refit.
Bolton almost roared into the lead inside 60 seconds. Fredi Bobic latched onto
a hopeful punt forwards but Edwin van der Sar parried his effort.
Fulham forward Hayles has been out of favour in recent weeks, despite being
top-scorer, and he looked nervous when Steed Malbranque slipped a pass into his
feet inside the visitors' area. He panicked and totally mishit his shot, which
Jaaskelainen simply picked up.
At the other end, Bolton's Anthony Barness thundered an 18-yard shot over van
der Sar's crossbar.
And the Londoners' season-long fear of shooting meant the visitors looked more
likely to score, with Wanderers continuing in the ascendancy as the half-hour
mark arrived.
Rufus Brevett's clumsy tackle on Youri Djorkaeff handed the French
international the opportunity to curl a 20-yard free-kick a foot wide.
But a moment of inspiration from Hayles after a moment of madness by
Jaaskelainen was close to handing the home side the lead six minutes before the
break.
The Finnish keeper threw the ball straight at Louis Saha, who flicked it to
his fellow forward Hayles. His first-time lob looped over the keeper and hit the
top of the bar before bouncing behind.
And that moment proved a warning of what was to come.
A poor Jaaskelainen punch from a left-wing Fulham corner fell to Goldbaek, 22
yards out, and he lashed home his first goal of the season with a drive
Jaaskelainen could not quite keep out.
Van der Sar did well to block Bobic's fierce strike on the stroke of half-time
- and a minute after the interval, Goldbaek almost bagged his second of the
game.
He seized a poor Gudni Bergsson pass and raced clear of the Bolton skipper,
only to shoot straight at Jaaskelainen as he lost his balance.
Davis almost made the headlines for all the right reasons when he latched onto
Hayles' pass and lofted an audacious 20-yard chip over Jaaskelainen but onto the
roof of the net.
But goal number two did arrive in the 72nd minute, thanks to an inspirational
strike from sub Marlet.
The Frenchman seized the loose ball when Hayles held off Bergsson and curled a
delightful left-foot effort past Jaaskelainen from 16 yards.
And Craven Cottage erupted again four minutes later as Malbranque swept a
superb pass down the line to Hayles, who beat the Bolton offside track and
thumped a 12-yard shot past the helpless Jaaskelainen.
The Finn had to push a Malbranque strike round his post to prevent further
embarrassment - and he also gathered a Marlet shot-on-the-turn late on.
Teams:
Fulham: Van der Sar, Finnan, Brevett, Melville, Goma,
Malbranque (Stolcers 85), Legwinski, Goldbaek,
Davis (Taylor 81), Saha (Marlet 58), Hayles.
Subs Not Used: Collins, Knight.
Goals: Goldbaek 42, Marlet 72, Hayles 76.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, N'Gotty, Bergsson, Nolan, Barness,
Charlton, Frandsen, Djorkaeff, Southall (Espartero 67),
Bobic (Ricketts 75), Wallace (Holdsworth 74).
Subs Not Used: Poole, Konstantinidis.
Att: 18,107
Ref: P Durkin (Dorset).