Captain America saves the day in London. Film at 11.Brian McBride headed in Jimmy Bullard's free kick in the 52nd minute, and Erik Nevland added a breakaway goal 35 minutes later to give Fulham an all-important 2-0 victory over Birmingham City. That win, combined with Reading's 1-0 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur, lifted the Cottagers to 17th place in the Premier League, one spot ahead of the drop zone.
McBride, who was out injured for a large stretch of the season, has helped fuel this Fulham comeback, helping the club take 9 points out of its last 12. In fact, McBride and Nevland also scored in Fulham's 2-0 win over Reading three weeks ago. Reading and Birmingham are now both on the verge of relegation, and their situation grew even more dire after Bolton Wanderers defeated Sunderland, 2-0, to lift themselves 3 points clear of the drop zone with one game left. Middlesbrough and Wigan also secured their league status for next season with wins today.
Fulham now controls its own destiny. They can complete their great escape with a win at Portsmouth, a club that has looked disinterested in league play since reaching the FA Cup final.
Reading travels to Derby County, and while you would expect the Royals to break their six-game goalless streak against the Rams, they probably won't make up the 6-point goal differential gap between themselves and Fulham. Meanwhile, Birmingham needs to win and for both Reading and Fulham to lose or draw to avoid their second drop from the Premier League in three seasons. However, they face Blackburn, which still has an outside shot at qualifying for the last Intertoto Cup after their 3-1 win against Derby today.
