It's Fulham 1 Chelsea 0 as Hodgson's Houdinis upstage their mighty neighbours

With the Manchester United-Chelsea clash taking much of the attention on a glorious afternoon of Premier League action, Fulham’s unbelievable comeback at the City of Manchester Stadium was overlooked by many.

But the Cottagers grabbed an absolutely massive win and infused yet more belief that they can avoid the dreaded drop. Roy Hodgson’s side were two down with just over 20 minutes to play when substitute Diomansy Kamara pulled one back and Danny Murphy equalised nine minutes later, knocking in the rebound after Joe Hart had saved his penalty.

Kamara grabbed the late winner with a great finish from a tight angle to complete one of the most impressive comebacks of the season. Fulham were down and out at half time and looking doomed to Championship football. Had they lost at Eastlands they would now be six points off safety, with only two games remaining.

In addition, both Bolton and Birmingham were leading their games at one stage and Hodgson’s body language told its own story. The former Inter Milan manager admitted afterwards: “To win it was extraordinary. We've given ourselves a chance now."

The victory could signal the start of another great escape in the mould of Portsmouth a few seasons ago, and like those that Matt Le Tissier and Southampton perfected in the mid-90s. The second away win in a row has created yet more belief that Fulham can stay in the top-flight for an eighth season after a hugely deflating home defeat to Liverpool reserves just a week ago. Fulham have a number of match winners and a canny manager whose substitutions yesterday made a big difference.

Kamara was the hero on Saturday but Erik Nevland, another second-half substitute, also played his part, winning the penalty from which Murphy eventually equalised. And whilst Southampton all those years ago relied on Le Tissier, Fulham have Murphy, Brian McBride, Simon Davies and Jimmy Bullard, who have all been match-winners in the second-half of the season.

Whilst David Healy has still not made the impact he has at international level, perhaps Northern Ireland’s top scorer is waiting for the final two games to stamp his goalscoring prowess on the relegation battle in the most dramatic way. With a three-point gap between themselves and safety, Fulham face the team directly above them in Birmingham.

This is a “six-pointer” of epic proportions and whoever wins will have a real chance of beating the drop on the final day of the season.

The only negative from Fulham’s win at Eastlands is that they have followed up a number of fine results this season with poor displays and defeats – there is no room for such error next Saturday. The Cottagers’ final game is at Fratton Park against a Portsmouth side who will be focused on the FA Cup final. Besides Derby, Hodgson could not have picked better opponents for the last day. Fulham’s great escape is on and the comeback at Eastlands suggests that they can stay up.

The next two games will be nerve-shattering for Fulham fans but having been so close to already being down perhaps the win at City is the start of a famous escape.