Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was pleased with their 1-1 draw at Europa League opponents CSKA Sofia last night.

Diomansy Kamara struck in the 66th minute to secure a creditable share of the spoils after Michel Platini gave CSKA the lead at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

Only John Pantsil and Simon Davies of the side that played against the Bulgarian league leaders can claim to be first-team regulars, a team selection that earned Hodgson some criticism.

But the Fulham manager felt his severely depleted line-up, which showed nine changes to the side that defeated Everton 2-1 on Sunday, justified his faith.

"The decision to pick the team we did was made with very careful thought and was backed up by the powers that be within the club," he said.

"We made our mind up early on that if we are to do anything in this competition we'll have to use as many players as UEFA allow us to.

"I think that now I can continue with this policy in the future.

"I don't have to worry about playing guys like David Stockdale, Christopher Smalling, Jonathan Greening or Zoltan Gera.

"The team showed they deserved to be selected because we played against a good CSKA side.

"These players had a serious chance to show what they can do and proved why I can trust them.

"It doesn't matter which team we fielded, it would have been tough. They played at pace and have started the season well."