Premier League: Fulham 2 Stoke 1

Pavel Pogrebnyak scored on debut to help Fulham to a 2-1 Premier League victory over Stoke City on Saturday.

Pogrebnyak opened his account in English football with a thumping finish after nearly 15 minutes at Craven Cottage, before Clint Dempsey’s swerving shot hit the bar and rebounded off Thomas Sorensen into the net for a 2-0 lead.

The visitors slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat in spite of a late goal from Ryan Shawcross.

Russian import Pogrebnyak opened the scoring when John Arne Riise’s deflected shot dropped at the striker’s feet on the edge of the area, the former Stuttgart man sending a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.

Dempsey extended the lead when he launched a stunning shot that swerved onto the bar via a very slight touch from Sorensen, only to hit the goalkeeper as it came back and dropped into the net.

The hosts picked up where they left off after the break, threatening when Damien Duff fed Stephen Kelly on the overlap, but the full-back’s cross was parried by Sorensen.

Substitute Jermaine Pennant showed signs of life for Stoke and whipped in a testing ball from the right wing in search of Mathew Upson and Wilson Palacios, but neither could capitalise on the header.

But the visitors got back into it with just over 10 minutes left when Shawcross ran in at the near post to flick a corner on with his head. It should have been stopped at the far post but the experienced Danny Murphy wandered off his line and the Stoke defender profited.

Fulham should have extended their lead when Dempsey escaped Sorensen on the counter and had an open goal to aim at from the left of the pitch, but he rolled it against the post. The final whistle accompanied it, though, to consign the visitors to another defeat.