Fulham booked their place in next season’s Premier League by beating Brentford 2-1 at Wembley on Tuesday.
During the regular Championship season, Brentford missed out on automatic promotion twice in a row, leaving West Bromwich Albion a free slot in the top flight, meaning that the Bees had to play in the play-offs. They were able to beat Swansea 3-2 over two legs, thus giving them one more chance to fight for the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Fulham finished the regular season in 4th, only being Brentford on goal difference, and were able to beat Cardiff City 3-2 over their two-leg tie. They had done this without the services of Championship golden boot winner Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Brentford probably went into the match at Wembley as slight favourites, having beaten Fulham twice this season and boasting one of the most exciting front threes in the league.
The first 90 minutes of the match were extremely cagey. Fulham bossed much of the possession, as Scott Parker would have wanted, and this left very few chances for the likes of Mbuemo, Watkins and Benrahma. However, starting the match with players like Mitrovic and Knockaert on the bench put too much pressure on Kamara, Kebano and Reid, and Fulham were unable to create too much. Whenever they did have a chance, Joshua Onomah was usually at the heart of it.
As extra time rolled around, the pattern of the game seemed to change. Brentford appeared to have gained confidence, and they were able to create a bit more. However, it was Fulham who broke the deadlock. In the 105′ minute, Fulham left-back Joe Bryan saw goalkeeper David Raya out of position, and curled a brilliant free-kick in from a long way out. He was the only person in the stadium who wasn’t expecting a cross, and his ingenious piece of improvisation turned the game on its head.
In the last period of the game, Brentford tried and tried to break Fulham down, but the defence in White stayed strong. Then, in the 117′ minute, Joe Bryan played a one-two with substitute Mitrovic, and the left-back was able to guide a right-footed shot past Raya for his second of the match, all but sealing Brentford’s fate.
The Bees were eventually able to get a goal, with Henrik Dalsgaard nodding the ball past Rodak in the 120+4′ minute, but it was too little too late, and their new stadium will have its first season in the 2nd tier of English football.
Huge congratulations to Fulham, who bossed the game and deservedly won promotion. I look forward to covering your games next season right here on this blog.
Player Ratings
Brentford
David Raya – 5
Henrik Dalsgaard – 7
Pontus Jansson – 6.5
Ethan Pinnock – 6
Rico Henry – 7
Mathias Jensen – 5
Christian Nørgaard – 6.5
Josh Dasilva – 6.5
Bryan Mbuemo – 5.5
Ollie Watkins – 6
Saïd Benrahma – 6.5
Subs:
Emiliano Marcondes – 6
Sergi Canós – 6.5
Halil Dervişoğlu – 6
Tarique Fosu – 5
Fulham
Marek Rodak – 6.5
Denis Odoi – 7.5
Michael Hector – 7.5
Tim Ream – 7
Joe Bryan – 9 (MOTM)
Harrison Reed – 7.5
Tom Cairney – 6.5
Neeskens Kebano – 7
Josh Onomah – 8
Bobby Decordova-Reid – 6.5
Aboubakar Kamara – 6.5
Subs:
Anthony Knockaert – 7
Aleksandar Mitrovic – 8
Ivan Cavaleiro – 6.5
Maxime Le Marchand – N/A
Cyrus Christie – N/A
By Jed Vine
