Hodgson ´touched´ by Fulham homecoming

West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson was “touched” by his reception at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

Before the match against Fulham, which ended 1-1, Hodgson was given a standing ovation by the fans of the club he left in July 2010.

Hodgson – who led Fulham to the 2009 Europa League final – was well received by the Fulham faithful in a match the hosts looked likely to win until Somen Tchoyi’s late equaliser.

“In terms of a homecoming, if that’s the right word, it was really good to come back to Craven Cottage,” Hodgson said.

“I was quite touched really by the reception from the fans and everybody here. It’s nice that sometimes the past is remembered and work you have done is still appreciated.”

“Of course you move on and certainly the club has moved on and gets stronger by the day.”

Hodgson’s side squandered a set of first-half chances and the West Brom boss was disappointed to go behind, only to be pleased by his side’s resilience in response.

“When we went a goal down I felt we had played quite well in the game and it was a bit harsh to go a goal down, but it was great to equalise,” he said.

Fulham boss Martin Jol had no complaints with the result and praised West Brom’s efforts throughout the 90 minutes.

“To concede a goal in the last eight minutes was disappointing, but I was happy,” Jol said.

“You always have to make a difference against teams like this, they played very well, were well organised and you need patience and still play in a good tempo.”

“And I think in the second half we did that. In the first half we didn’t. So the extra quality came from Bryan Ruiz and of Clint Dempsey, you know that he’s a goal scorer.”