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Fulham manager Mark Hughes believes injury to Bobby Zamora was to blame after disappointing draw with Blackpool
England striker likely to miss Euro 2012 qualifiers after picking up knock...
28 Aug 2010 22:00:00
By Grant Wilson
Fulham manager Mark Hughes believes that the loss of striker Bobby Zamora was to blame after the Cottagers drew 2-2 against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.
The England striker had put Fulham ahead and had been a constant threat up front before being forced off in the second half due to injury.
American international Clint Dempsey replaced Zamora, but Fulham went on to concede two goals before Dickson Etuhu scored with three minutes remaining to rescue a point for the London club.
With England manager Fabio Capello in the stands watching Zamora, Hughes admitted that his side lacked any real threat after the striker went off.
"We lost a little bit of our focus when Bobby went off. That disrupted us somewhat. But we are pleased with an away point and will build on that," Hughes told Sky Sports News.
"We haven't picked up that many points on the road over the years. It is something we hope to improve on. It is key to whether we have a decent season.
"In the second half we didn't play as well as we normally can, made a couple of mistakes and let them get back into the game."
The Fulham manager also praised midfielder Etuhu after he scored a fine goal to draw the game level for the second time in the match.
"It is good to see Dickson Etuhu getting on the end of something. He has not scored many goals in his career. We are trying to get him forward more," he continued.
"He's a big physical specimen and he takes some stopping once he's in his stride.
"We tried to encourage that this year and obviously he's got defensive duties that he's mindful of but if we release him at the right time, as we did with a fantastic ball from Moussa Dembele, who I thought was excellent, he can take chances if he's in positions like that."
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The England striker had put Fulham ahead and had been a constant threat up front before being forced off in the second half due to injury.
American international Clint Dempsey replaced Zamora, but Fulham went on to concede two goals before Dickson Etuhu scored with three minutes remaining to rescue a point for the London club.
With England manager Fabio Capello in the stands watching Zamora, Hughes admitted that his side lacked any real threat after the striker went off.
"We lost a little bit of our focus when Bobby went off. That disrupted us somewhat. But we are pleased with an away point and will build on that," Hughes told Sky Sports News.
"We haven't picked up that many points on the road over the years. It is something we hope to improve on. It is key to whether we have a decent season.
"In the second half we didn't play as well as we normally can, made a couple of mistakes and let them get back into the game."
The Fulham manager also praised midfielder Etuhu after he scored a fine goal to draw the game level for the second time in the match.
"It is good to see Dickson Etuhu getting on the end of something. He has not scored many goals in his career. We are trying to get him forward more," he continued.
"He's a big physical specimen and he takes some stopping once he's in his stride.
"We tried to encourage that this year and obviously he's got defensive duties that he's mindful of but if we release him at the right time, as we did with a fantastic ball from Moussa Dembele, who I thought was excellent, he can take chances if he's in positions like that."
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