Marlet strikes as Fulham see off Finns
FC Haka 1 Fulham 1 1-1 on aggregate; Fulham win on away goal
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Your support makes all the difference.Fulham's European adventure is still on track after Jean Tigana's side secured a place in the Intertoto Cup third round on away goals with a draw against FC Haka here in Finland last night.
The French striker Steve Marlet put Fulham ahead in the 47th minute and, although Sami Ristila equalised for the Finns, Fulham held on to claim a draw and remain on course for a place in the Uefa Cup.
Having been thwarted by a superb display from the Haka goalkeeper Mihail Slawuta in last weekend's goalless first leg at Craven Cottage, Fulham arrived in Finland facing a tricky task at the Tehtaan Kentta stadium.
Haka, currently fifth in the Finnish league, had Valery Popovich back in their starting-line-up after the Russian striker had missed the first leg due to his fear of flying, but neither side could get a grip on the early exchanges. Louis Saha was sent clean through early on but failed to test Slawuta, while Haka troubled the visiting defence with a series of crosses.
Fulham finally began to dominate after the half-hour mark, creating a series of chances. Sylvain Legwinski fired wildly over when well placed, while Saha and Marlet were then denied by Slawuta.
Fulham started the second half at the same frenetic pace as they ended the first, and they were ahead just two minutes after the restart.
Popovich had just fired over the bar from Haka's first attack of the half and the Fulham goalkeeper Maik Taylor took a quick goal-kick in search of Marlet. The French forward latched on to Taylor's ball and raced through the centre before scoring with a neat low shot from just inside the penalty area.
Haka needed two goals to wrest the initiative from their English opponents and they refused to give up the fight. The Finns poured forward in numbers and pulled level after 66 minutes.
Taylor flapped at a left-wing cross from Lasse Karjalainen and, when the ball fell behind the Fulham keeper, Ristila was on hand to prod home the loose ball. Haka continued to press as they chased a winning goal but the Fulham defence held firm to seal a place in the next round.
FC Haka: Slawuta; Koskinen, Pasoja, Ylonen, Okkonen; Kangaskorpi, Innanen, Karjalainen, Rantala; Ristila, Popovich. Substitutes: Vilmunen, Aalto, Vaisanen, Ruhanen, Torkelli, Pasanen, Koivuranta.
Fulham: Taylor; Ouaddou, Harley, Melville, Goma; Legwinski, Davis, Collins, Malbranque; Marlet, Saha. Substitutes: Van der Sar, Sava, Boa Morte, Hayles, Knight, Goldbaek, Stolcers.
Referee: E Laursen (Denmark).
* Fulham are poised to sign the left-winger Eric Sikora from the Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem for a fee of £3.5m.
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