Saha so good after that incredible sulk

Fulham 2 Everton 1

"Who the f*** are Man United," was the chant from the home fans making their point to Louis Saha as he trotted back after scoring his side's opener yesterday. "The club I want to join," might have been the Frenchman's response, but the striker knows better than to upset the Fulham faithful.

That Saha would jump at the chance of signing for the defending champions is not in doubt, but that did not stop him from giving his all for Fulham yesterday. Perhaps he is beginning to acknowledge that the move will not be sanctioned by the club's board. Or perhaps he wants to leave on good terms. Either way, his performance was excellent, bettered only by that of his team-mate Steed Malbranque.

"The way Louis played is a credit to him," Chris Coleman, the Fulham manager, said after the game. "Considering everything that has gone on this week, he can be very proud of himself. He showed why we won't be letting him go anywhere."

The Saha saga naturally dominated proceedings, but the match provided plenty of talking points, too. Fulham won the game, but Everton created enough chances to score half-a-dozen goals. However, it says everything about their current League position that they found the net just once. "I'm disappointed," the Everton manager, David Moyes, conceded, "because I felt we had plenty of opportunities to win the game. It's something we'll have to look at."

They might have found an opener within 30 seconds, but Kevin Kilbane failed to convert Francis Jeffers' low cross. Fulham responded immediately, breaking from defence and then letting Malbranque do the rest. The little French playmaker twisted, turned and then created space inside the box for a shot which Nigel Martyn, the Everton goalkeeper, did well to parry to safety.

Both sides continued to waste chances. First, Kilbane found himself unmarked at the far post on 12 minutes, but volleyed Tomasz Radzinski's inch-perfect cross wide. Two minutes later, it was Saha's turn to miss a good opportunity at the other end as he headed Lee Clark's floated ball off-target. The game needed a goal, and it nearly came on 36 minutes, as Sean Davis unleashed a stinging right-foot volley from 25 yards which he, as well as the rest of the crowd, must have thought was in. However, Martyn defied his advancing years by producing a world-class stop low down to his right. Not bad for a keeper who spent the whole of last season on the Leeds United bench.

Then came the moment the Fulham fans had been waiting for. Malbranque made another darting run inside the Everton box, and set alarm bells ringing in the visitors' defence. Gary Naysmith duly lost his man, then his cool, and brought Malbranque down. Up stepped Saha to bury the spot-kick for one of the easiest of his 13 League goals this season. His subsequent celebrations suggested he had particularly enjoyed that, perhaps final, strike.

At times this season Fulham have struggled to finish off teams after taking the lead. Not yesterday. The second half had only just began when Malbranque, exploiting the acres of space being granted by Naysmith on the edge of the area, fired in a right-foot shot past Martyn. The keeper was probably at fault, although the ball did take a couple of bobbles on its way into the net. "Apart from two minutes before half-time and one minute after, I thought we were excellent," Moyes said. "It's frustrating."

With nothing left to lose, Moyes made a triple substitution after 56 minutes. The changes worked, as Fulham were forced to defend the long balls being aimed at Duncan Ferguson. By the same token, Everton were having to be careful not to concede a critical third goal. It made for an intriguing final half-hour.

Everton came close when Jeffers' 72nd-minute hanging cross was met by Rooney at the far post. It was a terrific header by the England international, but an even better save by Edwin van der Sar, who somehow stuck out a foot to maintain Fulham's two-goal advantage. There was nothing he could do nine minutes from time, though, as Kilbane netted Everton's consolation goal with an unstoppable 30-yard drive.

Fulham 2
Saha pen 45, Malbranque 46

Everton 1
Kilbane 81

Half-time: 1-0 Attendance: 17,103