Cottagers crash out

Fulham conceded a last-gasp goal to Odense in the Europa League to miss out on a place in the round of 32 after drawing 2-2.

Last-gasp winner sees Fulham's European dream end

Fulham conceded a last-gasp goal to Odense in the Europa League to miss out on a place in the round of 32 after drawing 2-2. The Cottagers needed to better Wisla Krakow's result against group winners FC Twente and a 2-1 success for the Poles meant Martin Jol's side needed all three points. Fulham opened the scoring with 27 minutes played when Bobby Zamora laid off Kerim Frei's cross for Clint Dempsey to drill home with aplomb. The home fans did not have to wait long for a second as Mousa Dembele's through-ball was expertly converted by youngster Frei. Odense set up a nervy final third to the contest at Craven Cottage when Henrik Andreasen curled home a delightful free-kick on 64 minutes. With the last play of the match Odense knocked Fulham out when Baye Djiby Fall headed home past debutant 'keeper Neil Etheridge deep into injury time. The match started edgily as Fulham's much-changed side looked to gel and their Danish counterparts struggled to maintain possession. The first chance of the night came in the 10th minute when Chris Baird forced former Everton goalkeeper Stefan Wessels into action with a 22-yard drive.

Press

Fulham continued to press after the midfielder's effort and, after fluffing a few chances, came close to breaking the deadlock through Brede Hangeland. The Norway international connected with Frei's whipped corner and directed a header goalwards, but Bashkim Kadrii cleared off the line and Dempsey blazed over the rebound. Zamora - whose relationship with manager Jol dominated the pre-match build-up - looked increasingly dangerous as the first period wore on. Having been thwarted in a one-on-one with Wessels, Dempsey latched onto the striker's flicked header but saw his goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Espen Ruud. Dempsey was not to be denied for long, though, as the Texan midfielder broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. Frei burst down the left flank and fired in a low cross that Zamora laid off for Dempsey to fire home. Fulham doubled their advantage four minutes later when Dembele played in Frei, who slotted through Wessels' legs from close range. Kelly came close with a shot from an acute angle as the half-time break approached, before Zamora fired into the side-netting.

Foothold

Dembele twice came close within three minutes of the restart as Fulham looked to begin the second period in the same vein, although Odense were beginning to get a foothold in the match. Etheridge was forced into a fine save to thwart a low Ruud shot, before the Danish side almost capitalised on a melee in the box. Odense's increased pressure saw them pull one back in the 64th minute when Andreasen found a gap in the wall and fired home a 20-yard free-kick. Kadrii came close to drawing level moments later, leading Jol to bring on Damien Duff for Dempsey in a bid to alter the match. The change did not have the desired effect, though, as Fulham continued to look lethargic and struggled to quell the waves of Odense attacks. Jol's side looked uncharacteristically shaky in defence and lacked creativity in attack, leading to a nervy final 10 minutes. Aaron Hughes headed over and Marcel Gecov shot wide as Fulham looked to put the game out of sight, before substitute Fall headed home three minutes into stoppage time at the end of a sweeping move to put Fulham out of Europe.

Fulham	Team Statistics	Odense Boldklub
2	Goals	2
2	1st Half Goals	0
9	Shots on Target	3
9	Shots off Target	0
2	Blocked Shots	1
7	Corners	3
14	Fouls	13
1	Offsides	5
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
83.1	Passing Success	81
21	Tackles	23
71.4	Tackles Success	60.9
50.3	Possession	49.7
50.1	Territorial Advantage	49.9
498	Total Passes	489
18	Total Crosses	9
141	Lost Balls	153
65	Recoveries	61
53.4	1st Half Poss.	46.6
46.8	2nd Half Poss.	53.2