Bullard lands his own sucker punch

JIMMY BULLARD was on the receiving end of a beating from his own team mate in midweek, but he was the one handing one out to Aston Villa.

The Fulham midfielder had a visible bruise across his nose after an altercation in training with Chris Baird. However, Fulham, and in particular Bullard, showed no signs of disharmony as they battled hard to give manager Roy Hodgson his first win since taking charge at Craven Cottage.

The 29-year-old curled in a 25-yard free-kick with only three minutes remaining to condemn Villa and help relegation-threatened Fulham record their first win in 15 games.