Honours even as Fulham cancel Chelsea opener

CLINT DEMPSEY – who else? - rescued a deserved point for Fulham after a typically full-blooded derby.

But home fans will feel cheated out of another piece of local history because of a controversial refereeing decision in the first half.

Mark Clattenburg further fanned the flames of debate over the willingness of officials to favour bigger clubs when he awarded a penalty that swung the game in Chelsea's favour.

Danny Murphy appeared to connect with the ball as he lunged in at Salomon Kalou on the edge of the area. If it was deemed reckless, the Fulham skipper did not received a yellow card, so Clattenburg must have interpreted it as mistimed tackle.

Either way, Frank Lampard was not about to pass up the chance and he duly drilled in from the spot – low to Mark Schwarzer's right.

That goal was out of keeping with the balance of play up until then – the Whites having had much the better of things in the first 45 minutes.

Having only managed a solitary victory over their unloved neighbours during their 11 seasons in the Premier League, the Whites did not lack for motivation.

They did not lack for pace and a willingness to run at defenders either, with Martin Jol's decision to start with Kerim Frei fully vindicated.

The young winger had home fans furiously working their clap banners in appreciation after he tore at the heart of the Blues defence and slalomed around Bransilav Ivanovic and John Terry before despatching a low drive that Petr Cech had to help around the corner.

Moments before then, Dempsey and Moussa Dembele linked well to give the USA striker a glimpse of the target, while Damien Duff nearly profited from a John Arne Riise overlap – the Blues grateful that the Irishman miscued a volley when well placed.

With every tackle cheered to the rafters and the Blues often having to shoot from distance, the Whites were going about their business well in the first half.

But all the good work was undone in the final minute of the first half with that controversial penalty and it gave Chelsea the platform they needed to get on the front foot much more after the break.

It made for a more even contest in the second half, although the verve was never quite matched by finesse as the squalls and wind – and the often scrappy default setting for derbies – held sway.

But Fulham fans were not complaining when they got back on level terms with seven minutes to go – Dempsey heading in a Duff corner just moments after Aaron Hughes had almost scored from a flag kick from the same side – Cech diving to his left to keep out the Ulsterman's header.

It was Dempsey's 22 ^nd goal of the campaign.

From Chelsea's point of view, this was a wasted chance to make a bigger dent into Tottenham's advantage in the race for the fourth Champions League spot - the north Londoners having lost earlier in the day to Norwich.

It also continued a disappointing run of derbies this season for the Blues, who have yet to win after two draws against both Spurs and Fulham and defeats to Arsenal and QPR.

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand; Mikel, Meireles (Mata 70), Lampard; Ramires (Drogba 83), Torres, Kalou. Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Malouda, Bosingwa, Sturridge.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise; Duff, Murphy (Etuhu 74), Diarra (Sa 89), Dembele, Frei (Kacaniklic 88); Dempsey. Subs not used: Stockdale, Kasami, Senderos, Briggs.

Attendance: 25.697