Prolific Fulham forward Pavel Pogrebnyak has marked his return to the pitch with a goal, helping his team edge out a tenacious Wigan. The strike became Pogrebnyak’s 100th in professional career.
After a scoreless first half, the game came to life after the break and it was the visitors who struck first through Emmerson Boyce in the 57th.
Wigan’s lead did not last long though, as the home side equalized a minute later when Pogrebnyak scored from just outside the penalty box.
And Wigan’s bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League was frustrated just one minute from time when Philippe Senderos met John Arne Riise’s free kick to score a late winner.
Fulham extended its league unbeaten run against Wigan to 11 matches, while the game was somewhat distinctive for Pogrebnyak. The Russian international joined the elite club of the country’s best goal-scorers with his 100th career goal.
“It’s great I made it to the Club 100,” Pogrebnyak told the Sport-Express paper, which founded the club. “But the most important thing is that my current club wins and I keep on scoring.”
Club 100 is for all-time Russian elite goal-scorers. The top three currently look unreachable for Pogy. The top spot is occupied by Rotor legend Oleg Veretennikov with 207, followed by two active strikers Aleksandr Kerzhakov (185) and Roman Pavlyuchenko (168). However, the 28-year-old trails by just a goal to former Manchester United and Everton star Andrey Kanchelskis, and there is no doubt Pogrebnyak will leapfrog the retired midfielder soon.