McBride breathes life into Cottagers

WHERE would Fulham be had Brian McBride not missed six months of the season through injury? Or more importantly, where would their hopes of survival be without him back in their ranks right now?

The American’s 67th-minute winner yesterday breathed new life into a cause that had long been teetering on the brink of doom.

This was only the fourth time the Cottagers have tasted Premier League victory all season, although Roy Hodgson’s side were fortunate their opponents just happened to have played 120 minutes of UEFA Cup football in midweek, suffering mental anguish as well as physical fatigue via a penalty shoot-out loss to Fiorentina.