Fulham v Stoke player ratings

Darren Bent’s goal gave Fulham their first league win since the opening day of the season and eased the pressure on manager Martin Jol. Here’s how we rated the players in their 1-0 victory against Mark Hughes’ Stoke.

David Stockdale: 6
The keeper did not really have much to do, with Sascha Riether clearing Stoke’s two best efforts off the line. But there was a moment when Stockdale looked to try and punch away a corner only to be caught in no man’s land and will have been relieved not to see the ball fly into an empty net behind him.

Sascha Riether: 8
Riether was excellent, busting a gut for his team both defensively and offensively. He cleared two Robert Huth headers off the line – the first with a desperate lunge to block the ball – and late on in the game sacrificed the some of the fibres in his hamstring to run 80 yards up the right wing in search of a goal for his side. A great display.

Brede Hangeland: 6
Hangeland was struggling early on with what later emerged to be a back problem and he was withdrawn at half-time for Kieran Richardson. His injury is not thought to be serious, however, and he is likely to return after the international break.

Philippe Senderos: 6
The Swiss defender had another decent game as he continues his run in the side and adapted to playing alongside Fernando Amorebieta for the first time when Hangeland was taken off and Amorebieta switched to centre-back.

Fernando Amorebieta: 7
The summer signing from Athletic Bilbao is proving to be an excellent, versatile acquisition. He began the game strongly at left-back before continuing an impressive performance when he moved to centre-back to replace Hangeland.

Damien Duff: 5
Duff was on the periphery of the game for large periods and does not look fit. The pace of the first half seemed to get the better of him and although he made some energetic attacking runs in the second half he looks short of what’s required.

Steve Sidwell: 6
Sidwell was not as effective in midfield as he usually is, and seemed to suffer without Scott Parker, with whom he has struck a good partnership so far this season.

Giorgos Karagounis: 7
At 36, there are inevitable doubts over the veteran Greek when he comes into the side but he was a workhorse, playing some excellent passes and making some great tackles before he was replaced by Derek Boateng in the second half.

Pajtim Kasami: 7
The youngster continued his steady improvement this season, especially in the first half, but his perfomance dwindled somewhat in the second.

Bryan Ruiz: 6
Ruiz showed glimpses of the player he can be but was often disappointing. He appears short of a yard of pace and was reluctant to come deeper to collect the ball like an effective number 10 should.

Dimitar Berbatov: 7
Berbatov was having a good game before he took a knock in the second half and was forced off to be replaced by the goalscorer Darren Bent.

Kieran Richardson: 6
The full-back was unfortunate to miss out on a starting place, with his recent performances having been quite good, and he was influential after he came on for the second half.

Derek Boateng: 6
Involved for only the second time this season. He was energetic but wayward with his passing, as might be expected after not being involved for six games.

Darrent Bent 8
The experienced striker did what he does best, getting himself in the right position at the right time and finishing with complete composure. His goal relieved considerable pressure on his manager and gave the team three valuable points.

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