Smith strike earns draw for Fulham

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Sheffield Wednesday 1 Fulham 1

Matt Smith scored his second goal in two games as Fulham fought back to earn a draw at Hillsborough.

Smith stabbed the ball home to cancel out Sheffield Wednesday substitute Stevie May’s 55th-minute header, but the Whites remain only six points above the Championship relegation zone following Wigan’s win at Rotherham.

After a poor first half characterised by mistakes on the worn-out pitch, both teams had chances to win in the closing stages.

Atdhe Nuhiu struck the crossbar but was ruled offside and home keeper Keiren Westwood saved well from Smith.

An uneventful first half featured only one shot on target between the teams, when Owls winger Chris Maguire cut in and unleashed a low shot that Marcus Bettinelli palmed away.

The game sparked into life when substitute May’s glancing header from a Lewis McGugan cross put Wednesday ahead.

Nuhiu then almost doubled the lead when he headed straight at Betinelli following a corner.

The Whites tried to find a way back into the match as Tim Hoogland, operating in a wide midfield role, struck a half-volley that looked to be going in until Claude Dielna bravely intervened.

And their pressure paid off with 15 minutes to go when Smith’s close-range flick crossed the line off the underside of the bar following good work from Ryan Tunnicliffe.

With both teams pushing for a winner in the last 10 minutes, the game opened up in the midfield but Fulham wasted several good opportunities.

Smith went through on goal but Westwood closed him down quickly and McCormack went close with a free-kick on the edge of the box.

But Wednesday held out to ensure Fulham’s winless away streak stretched to eight matches.

Fulham: Bettinelli; Richards, Turner, Hutchinson, Stafylidis; Hoogland (Woodrow 69), Parker, Tunnicliffe, Kavanagh (Fofana 70); Smith, McCormack.
Subs not used: Kiraly, Bodurov, Roberts, Rodallega, Grimmer.

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