A watchable contest between a Newcastle side which tends to be unpredictable at home and a Fulham team without a win on the road since the start of last season ended, predictably, in stalemate. The best chance of the game fell to Fulham, for whom Moussa Dembele hit the bar with a close-range volley from substitute Dickson Etuhu's knock-down. Kevin Nolan accidentally obstructed a close-range Andy Carroll effort. Both Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands were denied by Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer. Fulham have won only nine games on the road in the past five seasons, and their chances of making double figures at St James' Park receded the moment Dembele shuddered Tim Krull's crossbar midway through the second half. After an eighth league draw of the campaign, they have now gone 25 consecutive away games without victory, having lost won away from Craven Cottage on the opening day of last season. Even so, Fulham boss Mark Hughes is likelier to be the happier of the two managers. The received wisdom was that Newcastle would struggle without the creative influence of Joey Barton, who began a three-match suspension following his dismissal for violent conduct against Blackburn in midweek, and so it proved. Barton has laid on four of the seven goals scored by Carroll so far this season, and in the absence of such service the Magpies forward, who is widely expected to make his England debut against France at Wembley on Wednesday night, rarely came close to his effervescent best. Aside from the driven effort which Magpies skipper Nolan inadvertently blocked, Carroll also saw a well-struck 20-yarder saved by Schwarzer, but Newcastle's most promising opportunities generally fell to Lovenkrands. For the Fulham pair Damien Duff and Aaron Hughes, former Magpies both, it was an afternoon of contrasting fortunes. Duff, returning to his former club for the first time since leaving Tyneside in the wake of relegation just over a year ago, endured an uncomfortable time. Deployed in the unfamiliar role of left-back after an injury to Carlos Salcido forced Mark Hughes into a defensive reshuffle, the Republic of Ireland international's every touch was greeted with a chorus of disapproval from the home support. For the most part he carried out his defensive duties well, although notably one of Newcastle's best first-half chances was fashioned along Fulham's left flank, Danny Simpson delivering an inviting ball into the six-yard box for Lovenkrands. That the opening came to nothing was down to Hughes, who nipped in ahead of the Denmark international to clear the danger. It was one of several incisive contributions from the erstwhile Magpies centre-half, who had likewise denied Lovenkrands in the opening minutes, nipping in to clear Jose Enrique's centre after the Spaniard had rounded the statuesque Stephen Kelly. In terms of keeping Newcastle at bay, Hughes was outshone only by the unlikely figure of Nolan, who inadvertently got in the way of a meaty effort from Carroll following a Guthrie corner. Schwarzer got down well to obstruct the progress of Lovenkrands' follow-up effort, and that was about as near as the home side got before the break. Not so Fulham, who overcame a slow start to make life increasingly eventful for Krul in the Newcastle goal. Having got down bravely to deny Clint Dempsey from a corner, the Dutch keeper was forced to turn behind a low Zoltan Gera effort before beating away another curling attempt from Dempsey. Fulham's best chance to break the deadlock came on the stroke of half-time, when it took a late intervention from Cheik Tiote to defuse a promising counter-attack led by Andrew Johnson, who looked impressive on his first league start for 21 months. If that moment augured well for Fulham, it was Newcastle who looked the likelier after the break. Lovenkrands forced Schwarzer into a sprawling save with a low near-post drive, and the big Australian again got down smartly to gather a drilled 20-yard effort from Carroll. But Newcastle, who were denied by the Fulham keeper again after Guthrie had found Lovenkrands with a searching cross from deep, were clearly missing the midfield invention of the suspended Barton. That point was underlined five minutes from time when Carroll was again denied, Brede Hangeland making a vital block, although it would have been harsh had Fulham been denied a merited point at that late stage. Source: BBC