Fulham are moving on to the Semifinals of the Europa League. They beat Wolfsburg 1 - 0 in Germany to win on aggregate 3 - 1 . This is an incredible victory for Fulham. Bobby Zamora scored the only goal of the match 23 seconds into the game. Both teams had scoring chances, but in the end there were no more goals in this match.
The first half couldn't have started any better for Fulham. Only 23 seconds into the match Bobby Zamora scored from the center of the penalty area. The goal came off from a pass from Zoltan Gera. Not even a minute into the match and Fulham were leading 1 - 0 and 3 - 1 on aggregate.
As I expected Wolfsburg would put tremendous pressure on Fulham early in this match. In the 12th minute Wolfsburg almost tied the match early. Grafite put a shot past Mark Schwarzer. Fortunately for Fulham the offsides flag went up and the goal did not count.
Danny Murphy had an opportunity to make it 2 - 0 for Fulham. He had a great shot but it was saved by Diego Benaglio. The rest of the half saw good play back and forth, but no one could score a goal. The half ended with Fulham ahead 1 - 0, and 3 -1 on aggregate.
The second half saw a some real good action and scoring chances for both sides. In the 56th minute Edin Dzeko makes a nice shot but is saved by Schwarzer. In the beginning stages of the second half Wolfsburg were putting the pressure on Fulham.
However, Fulham would have some great chances to get that second goal. In the 59th minute, Danny Murphy sends a wonderful through ball to Bobby Zamora. He goes one on one with the goalkeeper. Zamora's shot is blocked away. This was a wonderful chance for Fulham. In the 76th minute, Bobby Zamora sends a beautiful pass to Simon Davies and he is inside the penalty area. He is one on one with the goalkeeper and his shot is saved. The very next minute, Danny Murphy sends a great ball to Bobby Zamora in the box who is just offsides when he strikes the ball into the net. The goal does not count.
The pattern in the second half though was Wolfsburg would put pressure on, but the Fulham defense would handle it time after time. I was impressed with everyone on defense. There is no question they did their job.
This would set up a couple dramatic moments in this match by both teams. First, in the 82nd minute, Danny Murphy takes a beautiful shot close in on net. It was saved by Barzagli on defense. I don't know how this shot did not go into the net.
Next, it was Wolfsburg's turn to have a golden opportunity for a goal. Edin Dzeko's shot hits the post and bounces out to Grafite. His shot is saved by Hangeland. Again, I don't know how this shot by Grafite did not go into the net.
Finally, there was more pressure by Wolfsburg led by Edin Dzeko in the last several minutes . As it was in the entire match there would be pressure by the German side , but it was always handled by Fulham. The game ends with Fulham winning the match 1 - 0 and 3 - 1 on aggregate.
This was a match Fulham deserved to win. They now move on to the semifinals of the Europa League and will face Hamburg. Who would have thought back in July that Fulham would be one of the final four teams left in the Europa League? This is an incredible achievement by this club.