Dark clouds gather for Fulham as D'Urso loses control

Fulham 0 Birmingham City 1

Fulham's bad week got worse yesterday as they followed their Uefa Cup exit with an acrimonious defeat at the hands of a team that played the last 20 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of the centre-back Darren Purse.

It was debatable how much of the obvious bad feelings between these sides had been carried over from their meeting a month ago when Fulham forced a goalless draw at St Andrews despite having two men sent off.

This match could easily have finished with similar numbers on the pitch as Andy D'Urso raised further questions about his refereeing rationale by handing out a total of 11 bookings. There were two for Purse, who was dismissed for a high challenge on Luis Boa Morte shortly after being bundled into an advertising hoarding by the Fulham forward, six for other visiting players and three for the home side.

It may be that D'Urso was going for a personal record. But while he had no option in a couple of cases, the majority of his decisions followed tackles that carried no malice.

If D'Urso was working on the theory that an early booking would allow him to take control of the game, he was manifestly mistaken. By the closing stages what had been a competitive match in slithery conditions had degenerated into a series of running feuds and a sense of fatalism pervaded. As the final whistle went following four minutes of extra time in which the home side contrived to miss two open goals through Sylvain Legwinski and Steed Malbranque, Fulham's full-back Rufus Brevett was head to head with visiting striker Clinton Morrison as events spilled over. "A Merry Christmas to everyone,'' the Tannoy announced ludicrously.

Birmingham's manager, Steve Bruce, joked afterwards that it had been easier for him to ask in his dressing room who wasn't booked, but he was clearly unhappy with D'Urso's attitude. "It just baffles me really because the conditions were treacherous and I didn't see any really, really horrible challenges,'' he said. "I think a lot of common sense has gone out of the window in the game.''

The home side's attitude in recent weeks has been affected by rumours that their chairman, Mohammed Al Fayed, is impatient with the team's progress after investing £100m in the last five years and frustrated by his inability to develop a new ground at Craven Cottage.

There were more immediate concerns on the day, however, as the home side palpably suffered from an absence of strikers, Steve Marlet, suspended after his dismissal at Birmingham, joining the injured Louis Saha, Facundo Sava and Barry Hayles on the sidelines.

Their challenge was startlingly undermined by a seventh-minute goal that shone out like a diamond in dross. It came from Jovan Kirovski, making his first Premiership start for Birmingham, who played a one-two with Morrison on the left-hand edge of the box before curving a shot passed Edwin Van Der Sar and inside the far post.

After this moment of inspiration it was perspiration all the way for City as they strove for the points which took them above Fulham into 13th place.

It was Fulham's misfortune that most of their chances fell to Legwinski, who is clearly not one of life's natural finishers. Admittedly, he could do nothing about the headed goal-line clearances from Damien Johnson and Purse which denied him at either end of the first half. But he might have done better when the Birmingham keeper, Nico Vaesen, beat him to a through ball in the 20th minute and again in extra time when Olivier Tébily's miscued header dropped the ball at his feet six yards out. Fulham need finishers, and fast.

Goal: Kirovski (7) 0-1.

Fulham (4-4-2): Van Der Sar 7; Finnan 7, Melville 6 (Clark 6, 65), Goma 6, Brevett 5; Legwinski 5, Djetou 5, Davis 4, Womé 7 (Inamoto, h-t; Willock 5, 51); Malbranque 7, Boa Morte 7. Substitutes not used: Taylor (gk), Goldbaek.

Birmingham City (3-5-2): Vaesen 7; Purse 7, Cunningham 7, Kenna 5; Tébily 6, Kirovski 7 (Powell 6, 72), Savage 6, Cissé 7, Johnson 7 (Woodhouse 6, 74); Horsfield 6 (Hughes, 79), Morrison 6. Substitutes not used: Bennett (gk), Fagan.

Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay) 3.

Bookings: Fulham: Malbranque, Clark, Brevett. Birmingham: Johnson, Horsfield, Purse, Kirovski, Powell, Tébily, Cissé.

Sent off: Birmingham: Purse.

Man of the match: Cunningham.

Attendance: 14,962.