This was one of those matches in which supporters turn to each other to wonder what on earth will happen next. Fulham’s shots were rebounding off the woodwork with ominous regularity, which at the hour mark meant that despite their total dominance, the game was still goalless. And then, after 1,763 minutes — more than 29 hours — without a league goal, Bobby Zamora gave Roy Hodgson’s side the lead.

Zamora is not in the sort of form one expects for a £6 million outlay — the price paid to West Ham United last summer. His goal was not, like the efforts of several of his team-mates, spectacular, rather closer to a tap-in at the far post, but it had a tangible effect on his demeanour.

“Bob’s bound to be relieved,” Hodgson said. “As a front player you want to score goals, and you’re always going to have that thrown at you when you’re not scoring. The moment after scored the goal, he had two great strikes, so it was pretty obvious that a weight has been lifted from his mind.”

The match began with such vigour and pace it was as if the season had been fast forwarded to a point where the teams’ fates were almost sealed. The match fizzled out with such a limp penalty effort from the visiting side that it was as if the season had ended and West Bromwich Albion already knew that they could not avoid relegation.

Fulham had been embarrassed by Manchester United in midweek, but now it was their turn to outclass the opposition. Unfortunately for Hodgson, his players were intent on curling shots towards the woodwork. When a strike by Danny Murphy hit the crossbar for a second time, the reaction from players and crowd alike was: “Is it going to be one of those days?” But if it was to be a truly wacky afternoon and the deadlock were to be broken, it would have to be unpicked by Zamora, who had suffered the gibes of the fans for weeks having gone 21 league games without scoring.

In the fifth minute, Scott Carson pushed a free kick by Murphy on to an upright and it was Zamora who failed to reach the rebound. A crisp volley from Dickson Etuhu was palmed away by Carson, then Clint Dempsey’s curling shot hit the woodwork. The comedy continued as Leon Barnett, in trying to cope with a chipped ball from Murphy, headed towards goal, making Carson scramble back. Under the gaze of Fabio Capello, the England manager, the goalkeeper managed to push the ball round the post for a corner.

The breakthrough came from a cross by John Pantsil that was flicked on by Johnson to Zamora. Brede Hangeland saw his header from a corner by Simon Davies hit the crossbar and then be pushed away by Carson. In the next wave of attacks — and there were many — Zamora’s shot blasted Carson in the face and the ball rebounded to Johnson for his sixth Barclays Premier League goal of the campaign. Carson needed treatment and probably thought he had suffered concussion when he heard the result. It should have been a thrashing.

It could also have been even closer had Roman Bednar done better with a penalty awarded in stoppage time for his fall under Hangeland’s challenge.

Asked who from Fulham might have caught the eye of Capello, Hodgson picked out Paul Konchesky rather than Murphy, but it was the former Liverpool midfield player’s guile and experience that really put West Brom in their place.

Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 7 - J Pantsil 6, A Hughes 7, B Hangeland 6, P Konchesky 6 - S Davies 6, D Murphy 7, D Etuhu 6, C Dempsey 6 - A Johnson 7, R Zamora 6. Substitutes: D Kamara (for Johnson, 81min), E Nevland (for Zamora, 81), O Dacourt (for Murphy, 85). Not used: P Zuberbühler, T Kallio, C Baird, J Gray. Next: Arsenal (a).

West Brom (4-4-2): S Carson 6 - G Zuiverloon 5, A Méïté 4, L Barnett 4, P Robinson 5 - R Koren 4, B Valero 4, J Morrison 4, F Teixeira 4 - J Simpson 4, M-A Fortuné 4. Substitutes: C Brunt 6 (for Teixeira, 50min), J C Menseguez (for Morrison, 77), R Bednar (for Fortuné, 82). Not used: D Kiely, M Cech, L Moore, S Martis. Next: Everton (h).

Referee: M Atkinson Attendance: 22,394