(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship (UWCC) witnessed another defence today as newly crowned champions Hull took on former champions Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Hull came into this match struggling to find form, despite their most recent match being a 2-1 win over Wigan, and Phil Brown knew he'd have to follow up on that result to make it worthwhile.
Fulham, on the other hand, were unbeaten in two matches but not faring much better. In fact, before kick-off, the two sides were level on points, albeit with Fulham having a game in hand.
Ultimately, it was Roy Hodgson's men who ran out 2-0 winners, making Hull the second consecutive team to lose the UWCC title on their first defence after Wigan did the same before the international break.
Many had predicted Hull's poor start to the season, but few had anticipated Fulham having the same problem after their remarkable season last year.
Perhaps that shock caused the caution and lack of ambition that plagued the opening exchanges of this game as, for the most part, neither team looked like threatening the opposition's goal.
After 25 minutes, however, this changed when Bobby Zamora spurned a great opportunity.
Diomansy Kamara provided a magnificent pass which split the Hull defence, only for Zamora to shoot over from inside the six yard box.
While this seemed to liven Fulham up somewhat, Phil Brown's men looked devoid of any ideas to break down their opposition's defence.
Damien Duff saw two long range efforts go close before the deadlock was finally broken just before half-time.
Another Duff effort was parried by Boaz Myhill, but Zamora reacted quicker than everyone to head past the sprawling Hull City 'keeper.
Any hope that the goal would prompt an exciting second half quickly evaporated as, while Hull looked marginally better than they did in the first, they were still massively unconvincing going forward.
Stephen Hunt had a half-chance when he controlled well inside the box, but his shot didn't trouble the Fulham goal. Not even the introduction of Jimmy Bullard, returning from injury against his former club, could motivate the team.
In fact, it seemed to motivate Fulham more than it did Hull as a matter of minutes later, Fulham doubled their lead through Diomancy Kamara.
Bobby Zamora broke down the right before playing the ball across to Kamara who made no mistake, slamming the ball past Myhill.
The game looked more or less dead at 1-0, but the second completely killed off any hope of a Hull fightback.
Fulham could, and perhaps should have gone even further ahead before the final whistle was blown. Clint Dempsey missed two good chances and Zamora came close to grabbing a second with his shot from the edge of the box.
It ended just 2-0 however, and Phil Brown was left pondering just why his team were so lacklustre.
The result means that Fulham embark on their second reign as UWCC champions, the third team to achieve that feat after Liverpool and Chelsea.
It was also Fulham's seventh match as challengers to the UWCC title, more than any other team, and they now hold the joint record for amount of successful challenges as well as the record for most unsuccessful attempts.
78.6 percent of people who voted in the poll correctly predicted that Fulham would beat Hull and regain the UWCC title, so well done to the majority!
Fulham's run
Fulham 2-0 Hull (Fulham become new champions)
(Click here to see the complete history of Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship)
Fulham's first title defence comes on Thursday in a tough Europa League tie against Roma. Can Roma beat Roy Hodgson's men to finally take the UWCC title out of England and become the best club in the world?
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