West Bromwich Albion 1 - 2 Fulham

By John Percy, at The Hawthorns

Alexander Kacaniklic halted Martin Jol's alarming freefall down the table to earn Fulham their first ever Premier League win at the Hawthorns.

Kacaniklic's 58th minute goal was enough to secure manager Jol only his second victory in 13 games as Steve Clarke suffered a frustrating start to the year.

Fulham, inspired by Dimitar Berbatov, had taken the lead through their £4 million signing before a fierce revival at the start of the second half from West Brom threatened more misfortune.

But Clarke was condemned to only his third home defeat this season as Fulham completed an Albion double to move away from the relegation zone.

Jol's slide towards the bottom three had raised fears of a battle among the dead men, but you can rest assured that while nails are being chomped, Berbatov will remain the very definition of calm.

He may be wonderfully languid but is always absorbing to watch and he was constantly cajoling and pointing out the mistakes of his team-mates in a bid to inspire a revival.

The Bulgarian was involved in all of Fulham's more threatening moments, though the first period was virtually devoid of any highlights. He should have capitalised on the first opportunity on the half hour, after a slip from Chris Brunt, but drove his shot high over the crossbar.

But Albion, usually so formidable at home, were nervy and ineffectual and punished six minutes before half-time. Berbatov sent Ashkan Dejagah clear with a lofted pass and then timed his run perfectly to receive the cross and stroke the ball past Ben Foster.

Clarke had been subjected to a humiliating defeat at Craven Cottage in September but his team were level four minutes into the second half. Billy Jones cleverly worked his way inside Matthew Briggs and his cross was bundled over the line by Lukaku.

The on-loan forward almost added another shortly afterwards but struck the post as Albion suddenly sprung into life.

Lukaku was then denied by David Stockdale before Zoltan Gera hammered the rebound against the upright - the ball then found Brunt whose fierce shot was then headed off the line by Aaron Hughes.

Fulham could have been blown away but regained the lead on 58 minutes when Kacaniklic picked up a long Bryan Ruiz pass and punished Foster's strange decision to advance out his area and slide the ball into an unguarded net.

Though Albion mounted a late bombardment, Fulham defended stubbornly to cling on and ease Jol's nerves. The boos from the home fans at the final whistle were harsh - some perspective needed?

West Brom (4-2-3-1): Foster; Jones, McAuley, Tamas, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Brunt (Thorne 84); Fortune (Odemwingie 66), Morrison, Gera (Long 65); Lukaku. Subs (not used): Myhill (gk), Rosenberg, Jara Reyes, Dawson.

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Stockdale; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Briggs; Dejagah, Sidwell, Karagouinis (Rodallega 76), Kacaniklic; Ruiz; Berbatov (Senderos 90). Subs (not used): Somogyi (gk), Baird, Kasami, Richardson, Frei.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)