Vale outclassed by Fulham

Port Vale manager Mickey Adams took his new side to Fulham in the Carling Cup second round.

Adams spent time at Craven Cottage as both a player and a manager but he was given no favours by his former employers.

Fulham showed their Premier League class with a dominating 6-0 victory to send them through to the third round and significantly enhance their odds in the process.

The crowd was given a real treat as Fulham ran riot, scoring goals from all areas of the pitch.

Encouraging signs also came from debutants Moussa Dembele and Tom Briggs as both were impressive in their first starts for Fulham. Briggs in particular looked an exciting prospect in the left back role. This is a particularly encouraging sign for the Fulham boss, who is on the verge of losing his first choice left back Paul Konchesky to Liverpool.

Zoltan Gera opened the scoring after 10 minutes when he connected with Briggs’ cross to grab his side’s first goal of the night.

Belgium striker Dembele was a recent signing from AZ Alkmaar and the 23 year old opened his Fulham account after 25 minutes with a cracking left foot finish past the busy Port Vale keeper Stuart Tomlinson.

Bobby Zamora grabbed the first of his two goals on the night after 36 minutes when he smashed home from a seemingly impossible angle. Just before the half-time whistle, Gera grabbed his second after a nice turn and finish.

Port Vale must have been given a firm dressing down at half time by their manager, who made two changes.

Adams’ Vale side looked a lot better after the break but never really threatened to get back into the tie.

Fulham’s fifth came courtesy of a nice Zamora free kick after the hour mark before substitute Clint Dempsey smashed home a left foot shot from 20 yards to turn the tie into a convincing 6-0 win for the Londoners.

So Fulham go marching on whilst Port Vale are left to dream about meeting one of the big boys in this season’s FA Cup. Adams’ boys will be hoping to avoid the Cottagers this season.