LONDON (AP) ― Clint Dempsey scored yet again, lifting Fulham to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea that prevented the Blues from jumping into fourth place Monday in the Premier League.

Newcastle defeated Bolton 2-0 for its fifth straight victory and capitalized on Tottenham’s 2-1 home loss to Norwich to boost its chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Chelsea had been on course for a third successive league win after Frank Lampard got his 150th Premier League goal on a penalty kick just before halftime.

But the Texan Dempsey headed in his 22nd goal of the season in all competitions for Fulham in the 82nd minute, with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill’s back helping the ball into the net. Dempsey has 16 Premier League goals and has surpassed Louis Saha’s club record of 13 set in 2004.

The United States’ attacking midfielder headed in Damien Duff’s corner kick.

“When you’ve got Clint in the team you know you’ve got a chance,” Fulham captain Danny Murphy said. “He’s been on an unbelievable run of form. He keeps bailing us out. When the ball goes in the box he’s usually the first on the end of it, and he got us out of trouble again.”

<YONHAP PHOTO-0121> Sunderland's South Korean striker Ji Dong-Won controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Sunderland at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north-west England on April 9, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES....RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications../2012-04-10 05:10:53/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2012 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.> Sunderland’s Ji Dong-won controls the ball against Everton. AFP-Yonhap News
Sunderland's South Korean striker Ji Dong-Won controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Sunderland at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north-west England on April 9, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES....RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications../2012-04-10 05:10:53/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2012 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.> Sunderland’s Ji Dong-won controls the ball against Everton. AFP-Yonhap News

Sunderland’s Ji Dong-won controls the ball against Everton. (AFP-Yonhap News)

Dempsey scored twice on Saturday against Bolton.

“Maybe just lucky, one of them things ― to just go on a little bit of a run,” Dempsey said. “The first 15 minutes of each half I thought they were the better side, but then the game started to open up.

“We looked dangerous and towards the end of the game we played some really good football and created chances.”

If Chelsea doesn’t finish in the top four it will be relying on winning the Champions League for the first time to qualify for the lucrative competition next season. The Blues face Barcelona in the semifinals on April 18; they also have an FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham on Sunday.

For Newcastle, Hatem Ben Arfa opened the scoring in the 73rd minute and Papiss Cisse added a goal in the 83rd, his 10th in nine appearances since joining the club.

Newcastle is in fifth place and trails fourth-place Tottenham on goal difference.

“To have this points total and not make Europe would be tough to take,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said. “So we have got to keep our eye on the ball, and we aren’t giving up on anything ― apart from winning it.”


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com