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Southampton logo
Premier League
Oct 7, 2012 at 1.30pm UK
 
Fulham logo

2-2

Fonte (4', 90')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Hooiveld (69' og.), Richardson (88')

Live Commentary: Southampton 2-2 Fulham - as it happened

Jose Fonte nicks a late equaliser for Southampton against Fulham. Keep up on all the action with Sports Mole's live text updates.

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text updates from the Premier League encounter between Southampton and Fulham at St. Mary's.

The Saints have had an indifferent start to life back in the Premier League, winning just one of their six games.

Martin Jol's Fulham, on the other hand, have started the season well and sit comfortably in the top half.

Who will come out on top? Or will it be the two sides' first draw of the campaign? Follow all the action below.


3.43pmApologies about the lateness of the majority of our updates this afternoon. We suffered complete meltdown. Look out for my match analysis that will be on site in around half an hour's time. If you're after more football then follow our coverage of Newcastle vs. Man Utd here or Spurs vs. Villa here. Until next time, good bye!

FULL-TIMESouthampton 2-2 Fulham

90+6 minAnti-climax as Schwarzer is fouled.

90+6 minIt's cleared but only for a corner?

90+5 minInto the final minute and the hosts have another free kick. Lallana to take?

90+4 minSaints are looking the more likely to nick it and have a corner but it's palmed away by Schwarzer.

90+1 minFive minutes added on.

90 minFox's free kick is a good one and it's met by the Portuguese centre-back, who heads low into the corner. Fonte is booked for taking off his shirt in jubilation. What a finish to this game.

90 minGOAL! SAINTS EQUALISE! FONTE AGAIN!

88 minHangeland's ranging pass picks out Riether down the right and he cuts back for Richardson, who angles the ball goalwards and it's deflected past Gazzaniga again by Hooiveld. The big centre-back won't be credited with a second OG though as it was going in anyway.

88 minGOAL! FULHAM ARE AHEAD! RICHARDSON!

86 minCHANCE! Lallana twists one way, then the other to work space for a cross and he picks out Rodriguez at the back post. The forward can't, however, get it on target, heading straight into ground and over.

83 minIt's actually prodded Baird's way but he slices horribly wide.

82 minFree kick for Fulham about 35 yards out. Riise's lining it up?

80 minRiether and Duff link up well down the right and the former pulls back for Richardson but he gets his shot all wrong, skewing into row Z.

79 minSouthampton have a free kick in a good position but Lallana's curled centre is too close to Schwarzer.

77 minLate challenge from Schneiderlein on Karagounis and the former is lucky not to receive a second booking.

73 minKaragounis, the man who just came on, has a nasty cut to his left eye but has been given the OK to continue.

70 minMartin Jol instantly makes a change as Sidwell is taken off for Giorgos Karagounis.

69 minRiether's cross from the right goes all the way through to opposite full-back Riise. He strikes it hard and low but the ball's definitely going wide before Hooiveld sticks out a leg and pokes it into the roof of the net.

69 minGOAL! FULHAM EQUALISE! HOOIVELD OG!

67 minSouthampton's final change is made as Guly do Prado comes on for Lambert, who's not had the best day at the office.

66 minThat's the end of Kacaniklic's game though as he's replaced by Kieran Richardson.

65 minYoshida has been really finding it difficult against Kacaniklic and now he's got a booking for tugging down the winger.

62 minSouthampton make their second change as Richard Chaplow replaces Puncheon.

61 minGREAT SAVE! Fulham continue to press and now Sidwell's flick-on presents Rodallega with a golden opportunity but he's kept out by Gazzaniga. Top save.

61 minOFF THE POST! Ruiz's floated delivery is glanced on by Fonte before hitting Yoshida and almost going in for an OG.

59 minLallana hauls down Duff and the pair square up for some unknown reason. Lallana seems unhappy but he clearly brought down the Irishman.

57 minDown the other end and Rodallega has a chance to get a shot away but it's blocked before being collected easily by Gazzaniga.

57 minRodriguez brings the ball upfield for Southampton and he keeps going unchallenged before letting fly. It's a good, low effort but Schwarzer is equal to it.

51 minCHANCE! Schneiderlein has plenty of room down the right and he picks out Lambert on the edge. The ball to him was airborne so it was a tough one to control and he couldn't, blazing high.

48 minRiise is straight back into the action and is brought down by the sliding Scheiderlein. That's a booking for the big midfielder.

47 minRiise is down after Puncheon's studs accidentally scraped the back of the Norwegian's head. He's good to continue though.

46 minThe second half is underway.

2.29pmBig news coming from White Hart Lane as Brad Friedel's run of 310 consecutive Premier League starts comes to an end. Andre Villas-Boas has gone for Hugo Lloris over the veteran American.

2.25pmFulham haven't showed much desire to romp forward but that's in part down to Southampton's doggedness in closing down. They've been very good.

2.20pmSo the Saints lead thanks to Fonte's early header. All in all I'd say that it's a deserved lead.

HALF-TIMESouthampton 1-0 Fulham

45+2 minHooiveld misses the ball and Rodallega's through on goal. Gazzaniga's out quickly though and Rodallega can only poke wide.

45+1 minFulham have a corner and Ruiz's delivery is met well by Hughes but his powerful header is straight at Gazzaniga.

38 minCHANCE! Lambert is found by Puncheon on the left of the area and he has time to take a touch before walloping with his left foot straight at Schwarzer, who did well to stand up tall.

34 minSchwarzer's attempted pass from the back goes straight to Lallana and he finds Lambert who in turn plays it back to the midfielder. Lallana's cutback is good but both Lambert and Rodriguez run too deep and it's behind them.

33 minKacaniklic escapes the grasp of Yoshida but his scooped cross bounces harmlessly on the roof of the net. Waste.

30 minAlong with Lambert's goals, Southampton have a real creator in Lallana, as shown by @OptaJoe on Twitter: "Adam Lallana has now made four assists in the Premier League this season, a joint-high with (Juan) Mata and (Eden) Hazard."

27 minSouthampton have kept up their intensity and Fulham are struggling to string multiple passes together.

24 minYellow for Hooiveld after he handled Rodallega's flick.

23 minThe aerial presence of Lambert, Fonte, Hooiveld and Schneiderlein is really causing Fulham problems at the moment.

22 minLallana's delivery goes all the way through to Puncheon at the back post and he diverts it goalwards but is denied by Riether on the line. The home side earn another corner and the ball's in the net but it's disallowed for Puncheon's shove on Schwarzer.

22 minOFF THE LINE!

21 minSaints corner as Riether stops Fox's cross getting into the box...

20 minDuff's original corner is cleared but the Irishman sends over another cross that is met by Hughes but he can't keep it down and it loops harmlessly over Gazzaniga's crossbar.

18 minAnd now Duff pulls back for Ruiz at the other end but it's blocked by Schneiderlein.

18 minLovely football from the Saints. Lallana feeds Rodriguez and he could burst for goal but he pulls back for Lambert, who opens his body but sidefoots just wide.

16 minFulham earn a corner as Riise's cross is deflected behind. Kacaniklic looking bright early on for the visitors.

14 minThis is brilliant, Barcelona-esque pressurising from Southampton and Fulham are really struggling. Hooiveld went straight in at centre-back, with Yoshida taking Richardson's place at right-back.

13 minDear me. The Saints player are really getting roughed up here! Lallana is the latest one to receive treatment after getting a hefty blow to the face by Sidwell, who escapes a booking.

11 minRuiz floats it over and it glances off Fonte to Hughes at the back post but he's denied a go at goal because of Lambert's last-ditch interception.

10 minThe former Burnley frontman is back on his feet though to help the hosts defend a Fulham free kick.

9 minThe Saints players are dropping like flies as Rodriguez stays down after a 50-50 with Sidwell.

8 minRichardson's place is taken by centre-back Jos Hooiveld.

8 minOh dear. Richardson is being helped onto a stretcher and his game is definitely over.

7 minSouthampton right-back Richardson is down injured and he's shaking his head. Doesn't look good. Remember, Nigel Adkins is already without first-choice Nathaniel Clyne.

4 minSouthampton have started well and they're an early goal up as centre-back Fonte shoulders Lallana's delivery up and over everyone into the far corner. Great start for the home side.

4 minGOAL! FONTE HEADS IT HOME! 1-0 SAINTS!

4 minIt's another corner for Southampton...

3 minThe Saints have a corner that left-back Fox swings deep to the back post. Lambert gets up early but can't nod goalwards.

2 minSouthampton are in their all-red, fine white stripe shirts while Fulham are all in black, with a white and gold stripe across the shirt.

1 minEarly effort from Southampton's Schneiderlein after he won the ball back but that was naff.

KICK OFFWe're underway at St. Mary's.

1.28pmThe players are out of the tunnel, the handshakes are done and we're just moments away from the off.

1.27pmDisappointed that Ramirez hasn't made it today. The marquee signing had just begun to find his feet but is now missing because of a dead leg.

1.21pmPrediction time! I'm going for a home win. I've liked the look of Southampton this season and with Berbatov and Petric missing for the visitors, I expect the Saints to outscore the Cottagers. I'm definitely expecting goals!

1.19pmHere's a stat that doesn't read well for Fulham fans: The Cottagers have not won a league match at Southampton for 77 years.

1.17pmLambert has just admitted in an interview with Sky Sports News that he was "deflated" when left out of the starting lineup at Manchester City on the opening day of the season. Since then, the Liverpudlian has netted on four occasions.

1.15pmSouthampton's league position seems somewhat unfair considering their prowess in front of goal. They have, however, struggled to defend against the Premier League's best attacks. Can they keep out Rodallega, Duff, Kacaniklic and Ruiz?

1.12pmIt's an absolute blockbuster of a Sunday both in the Premier League and across Europe. After the action at St. Mary's there's Newcastle vs. Man Utd, Spurs vs. Villa and Liverpool vs. Stoke in the PL. Later there's the El Clasico in Spain, the Milan derby in Italy and the top-of-the-table clash between Marseille and PSG in Ligue 1. Phwoar!

1.08pmSaints frontman Rickie Lambert is partnered with Jay Rodriguez today and they're likely to be the main source of goals all season. Lambert, especially, has grabbed Premier League life by the horns, scoring against both Manchester clubs already this term.

1.06pmMartin Jol is again unable to call on Dimitar Berbatov and that means that Hugo Rodallega leads the line for the Cottagers. Mladen Petric is also injured and is replaced by impressive youngster Alex Kacaniklic.

1.04pmSo, Nigel Adkins brings in Danny Fox and Jason Puncheon for Nathaniel Clyne and Gaston Ramirez, who both miss out because of dead legs.

FULHAM XISchwarzer; Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise; Ruiz, Sidwell, Riether, Kacaniklic, Duff; Rodallega

SAINTS XIGazzaniga; Richardson, Fonte, Yoshida, Fox; Puncheon, Davis, Schneiderlin, Lallana; Lambert, Rodriguez

1.01pmHello folks, let's get straight to the teams...
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