The 2009–10 season was Fulham's 112th professional season and their ninth consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League, since their return in 2001. They also competed in European competition for the second time in their history, in the newly formed UEFA Europa League after finishing in the seventh position in the 2008–09 season. After beginning in the qualifying rounds of the competition, Fulham eventually reached the final, where they lost 2–1 to Atlético Madrid after extra-time. The fixtures for the Premier League season were announced on 17 June, with Fulham beginning the season against Portsmouth at Fratton Park on the weekend of 15 August. They entered the Football League Cup at the third round stage due to their participation in European competition. They also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur. Pre-season and friendlies Fulham announced the first three fixtures of their 2009 pre-season schedule on 4 May 2009, with the team scheduled to tour Australia soon after the end of the squad's summer break. The team first played Gold Coast United at Skilled Park in Robina on Wednesday, 8 July. Next, the squad travelled to Melbourne to face Melbourne Victory at Etihad (Docklands) Stadium on Saturday, 11 July. The trip concluded with a match against Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium (Perth Oval) on Wednesday, 15 July. Upon their return to England, they played a friendly against AFC Bournemouth on 21 July and Peterborough United on 25 July. Further fixtures were added for the Development Squad against local semi-professional sides AFC Wimbledon, Woking, Aldershot, Staines and Walton Casuals. The team were also involved in a third round qualifying match for the UEFA Europa League. The draw was made on 17 July, giving Fulham a match against Lithuanian side FK Vėtra or Finnish club HJK Helsinki. Vėtra were confirmed as Fulham's opponents after winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate. Their pre-season campaign started with defeat to Gold Coast United. Despite Danny Murphy scoring in the 15th minute, Gold Coast scored twice in the final ten minutes to win the match. This was followed by a 3–0 victory against Melbourne Glory and a 5–0 win against Perth Glory. Andy Johnson scored in both games and Erik Nevland scored a hat-trick against Perth to follow up a goal in Melbourne. Eddie Johnson and Andranik Teymourian were the other two scorers