Fulham survive a ’Raine Stome

MARTIN JOL was left counting the cost as Fulham survived a scare in Ukraine.

The Cottagers were under the cosh for long periods, but booked their place in the next round thanks to their comfortable 3-0 win at Craven Cottage last week.

Evgeny Shakhov’s goal for Dnipro was not enough to deny them, but Fulham were handed an injury blow to full-back John Arne Riise.

He was forced off with a groin injury and faces a battle to be fit for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle.

Fulham started brightly and Damien Duff forced Dnipro keeper Jan Lastuvka to turn his shot around the post.
But after that it was one-way traffic.

Dnipro were given hope when the Fulham defence fell asleep from a corner and Shakhov powered home a header.

And the home side continued to dominate, with Samuel Inkoom blasting over from a good position.

Another Dnipro corner caused havoc in the box, but the Cottagers manage to hack clear.

And Fulham were lucky not to go into half-time under even more pressure as Mark Schwarzer was forced to tip a venomous shot by Yevgen Konoplianka over the bar.

The Dnipro charge was maintained after the break with Evgeni Konoplienka sending in a decent effort which Schwarzer almost let through his grasp.

The Australian keeper had another scare with 15 minutes to go when he flapped at a cross and was relieved to see Chris Baird produce a brilliant block.

Pajtim Kasami was handed a golden chance to ease the nerves in the closing stages for Fulham as they launched a rare counter-attack, but he somehow blazed over from six yards after Duff’s cross.

And there was enough time for Dnipro to waste another opportunity as former Blackburn striker Nikola Kalinic sent a free header wide.