Jimmy Bullard's 86th-minute free-kick gave Fulham a 2-1 victory over high-flying Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.

Simon Davies' equaliser earlier cancelled out Aaron Hughes' own goal before Bullard stepped up to curl a fine free-kick over the wall and beyond Villa keeper Carson to keep Fulham in touch at the bottom of the table.

It was a first win for Fulham boss Roy Hodgson and the club's first victory in either league or cup in 14 games, moving the club to within two points of 18th-placed Birmingham.

There was further bad news for Villa, who saw new England call-up Gabriel Agbonlahor forced ff at half-time with a hamstring injury.

The first half was a truly abject spectacle, with poor passing and slack control breaking up both sides in the final third.

In the 12th minute Fulham forward Clint Dempsey saw a header cleared a couple of yards off the line by Wilfred Bouma, and new signing Erik Nevland looked an occasional threat in the air.

Agbonlahor struggled to get in the game, and Shaun Maloney - in for the suspended Ashley Young - curled a couple of efforts over the bar from the edge of the area.

And Villa wasted the best chance to open the scoring six minutes before the break when Maloney's cross eluded the outstretched foot of John Carew on the edge of the six-yard box.

Agbonlahor failed to recover from a hamstring injury suffered in injury time at the end of the first half and was replaced by Marlon Harewood in the break, a huge blow for a player looking to make his England debut in midweek after being called up by new England boss Fabio Capello for the friendly against Switzerland.

Dempsey directed another header wide ten minutes after the break after rising to meet Paul Konchesky's controlled cross from the left, but there was little improvement from either side.

The game came to life in the 69th minute when Villa - who have more goals from set-pieces this season than any other side in the Premier League - took the lead, Hughes instinctively sticking out a leg to divert Stilian Petrov's inswinging corner past Antti Niemi.

But just three minutes later, Davies levelled with a neat finish on the turn after his near-post run had been spotted and picked out by Bullard's fine low cross.

Fulham threw on Diomansy Kamara for the final ten minutes as Hodgson and the crowd sensed a potential victory, and the substitute won the free-kick that led to the winning goal, drawing a foul out of Curtis Davies with a dangerous run through the middle.

Bullard - only recently back to full fitness after a horrendous knee injury 16 months ago - stepped up to curl the ball into the goal, beyond the dive of the poorly positioned Scott Carson.

Alex Sharratt / Eurosport