Fulham 0 - 0 at Sunderland

Going into this match Fulham had only 1 win on the road this season. That was in the first game of the season against Portsmouth. They left the Stadium of Light with only one point today. Fulham and Sunderland played to a scoreless draw.

There was good news for Fulham fans as the game began. Bobby Zamora was in the starting lineup. He picked up an Achilles injury during the last Europa League match. The half was more controlled by Sunderland. However, both sides had a few decent chances to score.

Sunderland started the first 5 minutes of the match with good pressure in the Fulham half. It was though Fulham who had the first good chance. In the 6th minute Gera takes a good shot that goes wide of the net. In the 26th minute Simon Davies passes a nice ball to Bobby Zamora who heads it wide.

The Sunderland chances started with a Jones strike that went high over the net. In the 39th minute a free kick for Sunderland was taken by Darren Bent. His shot though was saved by Schwarzer. Kenwyne Jones actually had 2 more decent chances as Sunderland continued the pressure late into the half. The last chance for Fulham in the 44th minute was a free kick by Nicky Shorey. It was easily handled.

The half was physical with Zoltan Gera getting knocked around twice. Fulham and Sunderland ended the half 0 -0. To win the game we would have to see more out of Roy Hogdson's team in the second half.

The second half started with more pressure from Fulham. Early on a Simon Davies corner kick goes harmlessly in the box as there is a foul by Hangeland. Sunderland had the next 2 chances. In the 56th minute a nice shot by Alan Hutton is saved by Schwarzer. This was followed up in the 58th minute by a shot by Darren Bent which went wide of the net.

Shortly before that last shot Fulham's first change came when Danny Murphy was replaced by Jonathan Greening. In the 69th minute a beautiful left footed shot by Damien Duff just went wide. This was probably Fulham's best chance of the match. In the 73rd minute Simon Davies made a nice run but his shot was easily saved by Craig Gordon.

The end of the game saw a few more chances for Sunderland. In the 74th minute off of a long ball, a shot by Zenden hits side of the net. In the 80th minute a cross by Zenden goes right to Alan Hutton but again hits the side of the net. One of the best chances for Sunderland came in the 86th minute. Frazier Campbell's right footed shot in the center of the box goes high over the net. The final chance for Sunderland came in the 88th minute with a nice pass from Benjani that just missed Darren Bent.

The only other change for Fulham came late in the game with David Elm coming in for Bobby Zamora. Unfortunately for Fulham, Elm was not effective in Zamora's place. Bobby played decent but did not get any real good chances today.

Both teams deserved a well earned point. I thought it was a pretty even game with a slight edge to Sunderland. The game ended as it started 0 -0 from the Stadium of Light. Now it is time to move on to the F A Cup next week against Tottenham at Craven Cottage.