Fulham 2 Hull City 0

Last updated : 19 October 2009 By Footymad Previewer
Bobby Zamora gave Fulham the perfect present on the club's 130th birthday as Jimmy Bullard endured a torrid return to Craven Cottage.

Zamora was in superb form, scoring the first and setting up the second for strike partner Diomansy Kamara as Fulham climbed to 12th in the table after securing a well-deserved three points.

But Hull 's problems grew as Phil Brown's side lacked any spark or imagination, and they remain marooned in the bottom three.

And the night got even sweeter for Fulham supporters as Hull midfielder Bullard made his return from injury against his former club and was booed incessantly by the fans that had once chanted his name.

The game saw two out-of-form sides go toe-to-toe, and for large chunks of the first half neither of the two teams could string a series of passes together.

The only player to rise above the general malaise was Damien Duff, the Republic of Ireland winger, who appears to be settling in nicely at Craven Cottage after his £4million move from Newcastle United.

Switching between the two flanks, he terrorised Hull full-backs Paul McShane and Andy Dawson, with the latter earning a yellow card for hauling him down.

He twice tested Boaz Myhill with low drives, and in truth looked to be the man who could actually make an impact on the game and break the deadlock.

So it proved with just two minutes to go before half-time. Collecting the ball in midfield, Duff strode forward before launching a shot that Myhill could only parry as far as Zamora, who headed home for his first league goal of the season since the opening day victory over Portsmouth.

The half-time lead was just about deserved for the hosts as Hull paid the price for leaving Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink isolated up front and launching long balls towards him.

And unfortunately the quality of the play did not improve in the second half. Indeed, the only time the crowd got excited was when Bullard made his return to action after nine months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury.

The midfielder left Fulham for £5million in January after demanding the club double his wages to £50,000-a-week.

And that has clearly left a sour taste in the mouth of Fulham fans, who taunted him when he was warming up and booed him loudly both when he came on as a substitute and every time he touched the ball.

But before Bullard had a chance to influence the game, the result was put beyond all doubt as Fulham scored their second.

Hull were left appealing in vain for an offside flag as Zamora sped down the inside right channel, and the striker took his time before calmly picking out Kamara at the far post, and he had the easy task of tapping the ball into the empty net.

Kamara and Clint Dempsey then wasted very presentable chances to extend Fulham's lead and the hosts - despite Bullard's best efforts - easily closed out the game to seal a comprehensive victory.