Fulham 1-0 Liverpool: Late Goal Sinks 10-Men Reds

A Clint Dempsey goal five minutes from time gave Fulham victory over 10-men Liverpool.

The USA international struck after Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina uncharacteristically fumbled Danny Murphy's low shot. By that time, Liverpool were down to 10-men after referee Kevin Friend controversially chose to dismiss Reds' midfielder Jay Spearing after a challenge on Moussa Dembele.

Going into the game on the back of an unbeaten 11 game run, Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish brought in Spearing for the injured Lucas Leiva. There was also a start for Andy Carroll, as Dalglish played a front three with Craig Bellamy and Luis Suarez supporting the big striker.

The opening 20 minutes saw the visitors boss possession, with Carroll firing straight at Mark Schwarzer when well placed. When Fulham did get the ball though, they threatened too, with Dembele breaking clear to force Reina to come out and save well. The Belgian international then hit a fizzing left-foot drive which the Liverpool keeper tipped away low to his left.

On 28 minutes, the Reds thought they were ahead when Jordan Henderson burst into the penalty area, before hitting an early shot, which beat Schwarzer before it struck the far post and bounced clear.

With Liverpool missing the defensive qualities of cruciate knee ligament victim Lucas, Fulham were able to find gaps in front of the Liverpool defence. From one such position, Dempsey struck a shot which moved whilst airbound, forcing Reina to adjust last minute to pull off another good stop.

After the break, Liverpool upped the tempo, forcing a flurry of early corners. When Schwarzer punched one set-piece clear, Reds left-back Jose Enrique hit a controlled volley goalbound, only for Schwarzer to recover well to palm away.

As the hour mark approached, the game's first moment of controversy occurred. A quick break saw Liverpool outnumber the Fulham defence. Rather than pass to an unmarked Bellamy, Charlie Adam advanced with the ball. As he reached the edge of the box he lined up a left-foot shot, only for Philippe Senderos to bundle him to the floor. With the offence taking place right on the edge of the box, Fulham were lucky to not concede a penalty and with Adam seemingly ready to strike towards goal, former Arsenal defender Senderos was even luckier to escape with only a caution.

Bellamy then fired wide after a great through ball from Glen Johnson, before a clever Enrique lob set Suarez through in the penalty area. As Schwarzer advanced, the Liverpool striker lifted the ball over the keeper before firing into the empty net. But, the referee assistant's flag was already raised, meaning referee Friend had no option but to disallow the goal. Television replays showed Suarez' foot was in line with last defender Brede Hangeland.

With twenty minutes to go, Martin Jol sent on Andy Johnson to add pace to the home attack. Within 60 seconds, their cause was helped further when referee Friend harshly sent-off Spearing. As the ball broke free in the Liverpool half, Spearing launched himself off the ground as he cleared the ball forward. Such was the force with which he hit the ball, the young midfielder followed through and caught Dembele. Immediately, Friend deemed the tackle to be dangerous and produced a red card.

Suddenly the dynamics of the game changed. From being in a position where victory looked the most likely result, Liverpool now looked happy to settle for a point. Dalglish tried to tighten the ship by replacing Bellamy and Carroll with the hard-working Dirk Kuyt and Stewart Downing. But as Fulham started to see more of the ball, chances started to be created.

Dempsey worked space 18 yards out and then, similar to Henderson in the first-half, the American hit an early shot which beat the rooted Reina, but agonisingly hit the bar. Dembele then forced Reina into a good stop. At the other end, Downing burst through two challenges to hit a 25-yard shot which Schwarzer did well to tip onto the post.

But on 85 minutes, the deadlock was finally broken. After a Fulham corner was only partially cleared, the ball was worked out to Danny Murphy on the left. The ex-Red cut inside Johnson before firing at goal. It looked to be a routine save for Reina, but the Spaniard fumbled, allowing Dempsey to nip in and fire home.

Liverpool pressed for an equaliser, but apart from Adam shooting just wide from 20 yards, Fulham weren't threatened.

In a weekend where the top five all won, this was a bitter blow for Liverpool's chances of making the top four. Dalglish's men now sit in seventh place, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. Whilst the referee's decisions didn't help matters, more of a worry for Dalglish will be the fact that despite dominating for long periods, the Reds once again struggled to score. In 14 league games so far this season, Liverpool have only scored 17 goals. An improvement is needed if they are to mount a top four challenge.