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Fulham bounced back from defeat at Birmingham with a 3-0 win at home to Blackburn that put them in the top half of the Premier League.

An opener from Erik Nevland and a brace by Clint Dempsey (pictured) were enough to see off Rovers in a match that Roy Hodgson's side initially struggled to get to grips with but eventually controlled.

Nevland capped off a crisp passing move on 43 minutes while Dempsey pounced midway through the second half, tapping home Damien Duff's centre from close range, before adding a third late on.

With Neil McDonald standing in for manager Sam Allardyce as he undergoes a minor heart operation, Rovers had the better of the first half, with Franco Di Santo foiled by Mark Schwarzer after running through on three minutes.

USA international Dempsey mis-headed Duff's cross wide three minutes later but otherwise the visitors bossed possession and looked far more dangerous from wide, although lacked the cutting edge to match their dominance.

Keith Andrews fired over from 12 yards on 20 minutes when he should have at least made the Australia keeper work, while El Hadji Diouf made a total hash of his header when Lars Jacobsen's cross-field pass allowed him to get ahead of the slipping John Pantsil.

On 43 minutes Jason Roberts had a chance to test the Fulham shot-stopper but curled his finish wide of the far post from just inside the box, and seconds later the hosts punished Rovers by taking the lead.

Norwegian striker Nevland - dropped for the defeat at Birmingham - repaid Hodgson for his recall and rifled a low finish between Paul Robinson's legs after he was set free by Duff's clever through-ball from the right channel.

The goal gave the Whites confidence going into the second half, which they started in fine fashion, hemming Rovers back and almost adding to their lead when Dempsey poked Jonathan Greening's free-kick wide of the far post.

Much like Blackburn's first half, the possession yielded little in terms of clear-cut chances, and their goal threat diminished when Bobby Zamora limped off injured on the hour mark.

But they extended their lead not long afterwards when, after Zamora's replacement Zoltan Gera manfully rode two challenges on the left to cut inside before Duff moved in from the right wing to play a low cross that Dempsey diagonally glided in to poke past Robinson.

Diouf had a goal-bound shot blocked soon after the restart, but it was otherwise plain sailing for the West London side until Pascal Chimbonda touched a dangerous David Dunn ball wide from close range.

Dempsey got his second of the night and fifth in the league this season when, after substitute Simon Davies fed him from the right, he turned Andrews and fired past Robinson from six yards out.

It was Fulham's last game in hand over their competition and the win puts them 10th, one point clear of Burnley, while Rovers slip to 12th.

Reda Maher / Eurosport