Niemi taken for scans

Fulham 0 Watford 0

Niemi jumped to clear the ball in the second half following a minor tussle between Liam Rosenior and Darius Henderson but fell head-first from a considerable height.

The Finland goalkeeper received treatment for seven minutes and was then carried from the pitch in worrying scenes at Craven Cottage.

Fulham boss Chris Coleman said: “We were very concerned about Antti. It didn’t look very good from the replay. He fell very awkwardly.

“He’s got some damage to his neck but he can feel his arms and legs, so that’s all right. He’s gone to hospital for an X-ray and we won’t know more until the results of that come out.

“It looks worse on the replay than it actually is but we don’t know when he will be back. The most important thing is for him to get better. There may be a bit of ligament damage.’’

Fulham should have been out of sight at half-time with Brian McBride, Heidar Helguson, Tomasz Radzinski and Carlos Bocanegra missing superb chances.

Helguson had two goals disallowed for offside, the second of which was a bad call by the linesman, while Collins John squandered a gilt-edged chance near the end.

Coleman said: “This was two points dropped. I’m disappointed because we should have finished Watford off.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort, just poor finishing. Helguson definitely wasn’t offside for the second, it wasn’t even close.’’

Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd revealed he gave his players an interval roasting following a one-sided first half.

He said: “That was an exciting match for the neutral. From our point of view it was an appalling first half, probably the worst since I’ve been manager.

“There were things said at half-time that will remain private. My players have responsibilities and fortunately they tidied up in the second half.

FULHAM: Niemi (Lastuvka 61), Rosenior, Bocanegra, Christanval, Queudrue, Routledge (Boa Morte 66), Brown, Volz, Radzinski, Helguson, McBride (John 78).

WATFORD: Foster, Mariappa, Shittu (Mackay 34), DeMerit, Stewart, Smith (Henderson 46), Mahon, Bangura, McNamee (Francis 90), Young, Priskin.

Ref: S Bennett