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Fulham 2-0 Hull: Altidore gets on the field, but Dempsey is the best American on the pitch
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Fulham's Clint Dempsey goes for the ball with FC Basel’s Carlitos during their UEFA Europa League match in London, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
In a Premier League contest highlighted on the calendars of US soccer fans, Clint Dempsey’s Fulham handily defeated Jozy Altidore’s Hull 2-0.
Fulham dominated from beginning to end; Hull was content to play defense and rarely made any attempt to get the ball up the field. Hull acted as if it were playing one of the Big Four rather than a Fulham side that started the day in 16th place in the Premier League—ahead of 18th place Hull only on goal differential.
US national team midfielder Clint Dempsey started for Fulham and played a solid game. He whiffed on a couple of goal opportunities, sailing a shot left in the 65th minute and heading a cross left in the 80th. Dempsey set up Diomansy Kamara in the 76th minute, but Kamara missed an open net. Dempsey had several fine moments on defense, disarming Hull’s Paul McShane in the 86th minute and Kamil Zayatte in the 88th--in the last five minutes of the game, when Hull finally made some attempt to score.
The moment US soccer fans was waiting for came in the 69th minute, when Hull subbed in US national team forward Jozy Altidore. The Next Great American Soccer Hope didn’t have an opportunity to do much, as Hull was already down 2-0 and didn’t start to attack until there were only a few minutes left in the match. In the 90th minute, Altidore got a decent shot off, displaying his physical prowess by shoving defender Aaron Hughes out of his way. But Altidore’s shot was deflected and flew over the right side of the goal.
Dempsey—though disappointing MLS fans when he chose to go overseas—has proven he can be a quality contributor for a legitimate Premier League side. Hopefully Altidore will be able to get on the field enough to show that he can do the same.
