Davis pounces to give Fulham some breathing space

Plus ca change. Fulham began their two-year tenure at Queen's Park Rangers' Loftus Road ground with a familiar struggle to score in last night's Intertoto Cup semi-final first leg, despite being granted abundant possession by defensive-minded opponents. At least there was a last-minute goal by Sean Davis for the sparse crowd of 4,717, who had little to enjoy otherwise apart from an encouraging 45 minutes from one of Jean Tigana's new recruits, Junichi Inamoto.

The ground might have changed, but the pattern was the same as for the home legs in the last two rounds. Fulham puffed and probed, with Steed Malbranque as busy as ever, but rarely gave Teddy Richert, the visiting goalkeeper, any work to do. He was not required to make a save before half-time, despite being beaten once. In the 16th minute Malbranque won and took a corner, his compatriot Sylvain Legwinski's angled header hitting the bar.

Malbranque curled a free-kick too high after Luis Boa Morte had been crudely stopped as he burst through, but most of the time Sochaux's defence successfully crowded them out. Even when the home side broke after conceding a corner, with four men against two, Steve Marlet's shot was blocked before reaching Richert.

The visitors, who finished eighth in the French League last season, looked a cut above previous opponents Haka and Egaleo, without showing a great deal more ambition. They might have scored in the 28th minute, Fabien Boudarne's pass sending the Brazilian striker Francilendo Dos Santos Silva clear of Fulham's back four. He was at an awkward angle, however, and Edwin van der Sar was able to divert the ball away to the corner flag.

Inamoto's inclusion in the squad, initially on the substitutes' bench, guaranteed that the evening's attendance would be improved by an influx of Japanese journalists, who ensured that the press box was fuller than the stands. They were rewarded for all those wasted days at Highbury when he was brought on in place of Legwinski for the second half.

Japan's World Cup hero took up a position wide on the right – he might have preferred to be more central – and earned grateful applause for some neat touches. He was also involved at the inception of the move that ought to have brought a goal six minutes after then interval. Malbranque carried it on with a delicious touch but Boa Morte squandered the chance, shooting wide from eight yards.

There were few others and the crowd's frustration was made clear whenever Van der Sar dribbled out of his area and was urged "shoot!" He settled for hoofing the ball forward in most un-Tigana like fashion, and the manager sent Barry Hayles on for Malbranque as an extra attacker. There was little improvement until Sochaux failed to clear a disputed corner and Davis drove in a fierce shot from 10 yards.

Fulham (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Ouaddou (Knight, 63), Melville, Goma, Brevett; Legwinski (Inamoto, h-t), Davis, Malbranque (Hayles, 63), Boa Morte; Marlet, Saha. Substitutes not used: Herrera (gk), Collins, Harley, Sava.

Sochaux (4-4-2): Richert; Flachez, Raschke, Saveljic, Monsoreau; Lonfat (Chedli, 86), Pedretti, Boudarene, Mathieu; Frau (Zairi, 13), Silva (De Carvalho, 76). Substitutes not used: Daguet (gk), Tall, Isabey, Daf.

Referee: S Corpodean (Romania).