Dempsey double halts Chelsea
Frank Lampard scored his third goal in two games
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Sunday, 28, Dec 2008 09:09
A late goal from Clint Dempsey gave Fulham a 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Craven Cottage.
Dempsey had given the home side a shock lead, before Frank Lampard struck twice in the second half. But the American scored his second on 89 minutes to dent the Blues' title hopes.
Chelsea now trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by three points after 20 matches.
Didier Drogba led the line for the Blues, as Nicolas Anelka was on the bench, and the Ivorian should have given his side the lead in the tenth minute but rifled his effort wide from close range.
The home side punished Drogba's miss a minute later by taking a shock lead when an unmarked Dempsey headed in Simon Davies' free-kick at the far post.
Drogba continued to be a handful for the visitors but was again wasteful on 20 minutes when he outmuscled his marker before shooting across goal.
Anelka joined Drogba up-front on the half-hour mark when the Frenchman replaced the injured Florent Malouda.
The striker nearly made an instant impact with a venomous deflected shot which was beaten away by Mark Schwarzer.
And Luiz Felipe Scolari was forced into another change before half-time when Alex limped off and was replaced by Ricardo Carvalho, making his first appearance since October.
But that failed to stop the visitors' onslaught with Schwarzer palming away a goal-bound strike from Frank Lampard from the edge of the box.
The Cottagers made a nightmare start to the second half and conceded on 50 minutes when Schwarzer collided with Aaron Hughes, allowing Lampard to slot the ball into the net.
Schwarzer redeemed himself minutes later with a point-blank save to beat away Joe Cole's strike before pushing the ball away from the onrushing Anelka, while at the other end John Pantsil whacked a shot inches over.
But the Cottagers keeper will feel he should have done better for Chelsea's second goal on 72 minutes as he failed to line-up the wall properly and was wrong-footed by Lampard's free-kick.
Just as it looked like another away win for the Blues, Fulham threw a spanner in the works with Dempsey nodding in Davies' corner on 89 minutes.
In their next attack, Chelsea came agonisingly close to snatching victory with Ashley Cole's shot saved and Lampard's effort cleared off the line, as Roy Hodgson's men clung on to deny their west London neighbours.