Fulham Boss Roy Hodgson Hails Bobby Zamora

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has defended Bobby Zamora after his inexplicable open-goal blunder early in the second half against Manchester City on Sunday, preferring to laud his striker's overall performance instead.

Zamora managed to balloon his effort over the bar, despite having the goal at his mercy from only six yards out. The miss looked to have been extremely costly when City swiftly scored twice in quick succession to establish a 2-0 lead at the hour mark.

However, the former West Ham United man responded well and impressed throughout the match, constantly troubling City's central defensive pairing of Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott, as Fulham recovered to draw 2-2 thanks to goals from Damien Duff and Clint Dempsey.

Regrettable as the miss was, Hodgson insisted that it was not reflective of Zamora's overall performance.

"Unfortunately people who watch on the TV will see the miss and they won't see the 96 minutes and 45 seconds in which he was absolutely magnificent," the Fulham boss said, according to The Sporting Life.

"It should have been seen as the crowning moment of a great performance but instead it is going to be seen as a glaring miss and a blot on his copybook, which is sad for him.

"But if you want a good example of the character and resilience of this team and its ability to bounce back, Bobby's performance in the last 30 minutes shows that."

Phillip Wen, Goal.com UK