The outcome of Fulham’s second leg against Cardiff City was hard to predict.
A goalless draw would have sufficed, victory would have boosted morale. Their opponents arrived at the Cottage determined to reverse Monday night’s setback and they took a shock lead in the eighth minute when from a corner Curtis Nelson headed past Rodak. Straight from kick-off Fulham equalised, Decordova-Reid racing down the left and crossing for Kebano to slot home. What a playoff Neeskens has enjoyed.
The Whites failed to build on this remarkable opening despite some decent efforts from Cairney, Knockaert and Cyrus Christie and supporters started to worry when substitute Lee Tomlin put City ahead just after the break. If Rodak has a fault (apart from a predilection for time-wasting) it is that he fists the ball out too often, leaving it to his defenders to clear. He should ponder on the cliché of ‘a safe pair of hands’.
A nervous three quarters of an hour ensued until the referee’s whistle signalled that on aggregate Fulham had qualified for the Wembley final. Have our exhausted heroes the strength to overcome a very fine Brentford team?
First leg
As Sky Sports was unwilling to share the playoffs with Fulham FC’s TV unit I had to forgo the commentary of Gentleman Jim and Jamie and cope with the complexities of NOW TV on Monday night for the first leg.
The latter seemed simpler than on the last occasion I used it for a Fulham match. I realised that I had succeeded when I saw a trailer for the play-offs which harped on about an error made by Anthony Knockaert more than seven years ago.
The Sky commentators for the Cardiff-Fulham match seemed rather obsessed with the same mishap. Perhaps that is why Anthony played a quieter game than usual, but he and every Fulham player can be proud of the team’s performance in the first leg of the playoffs.
It is a sign of the Whites’ progress that Aleksander Mitrovic’s absence through injury gave little advantage to Cardiff. The home side’s best chance of scoring came early on when Marek Rodak could not hold Leandro Bacuna’s fierce shot and Robert Glatzel looked certain to scoop the ball over the line. Somehow Michael Hector intervened and the danger passed.
Though Bacuna and Glatzel continued to threaten, Fulham kept their calm and almost went ahead when Tom Cairney’s vintage strike just missed the target. It was a foretaste of the second half, in which the Whites allied effective teamwork with individual magic.
Straight after the interval Harrison Reed seized on a loose ball and fed it to Josh Onomah, who ghosted through a packed penalty area to score. It was a staggering goal, reminiscent of Rodney Marsh at his best. Cardiff were stunned though they continued to battle.
A useful lead became a decisive one in added time. Sean Morrison’s body check on Cairney gave Neeskens Kebano his third opportunity in three consecutive matches to fashion an unstoppable free kick. How does he do it?
Scott Parker can draw great satisfaction from that result. For one thing his faith in Josh Onomah was apply rewarded, and after his goal Josh darted straight over to his manager for a joint celebration.
Perhaps Scott was hoping for Swansea to eliminate Brentford on Wednesday evening, but the Welsh side’s slender lead soon vanished, as did their dreams of Wembley.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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