Brentford had amassed six goals in their two opening matches and there was some trepidation amongst Fulham supporters before Saturday’s local derby.
Bernd Leno, newly signed from Arsenal, stepped in for Rodak and 19-year-old Jay Stansfield, who had come off the bench at Molyneux, made his full Premier debut replacing the injured Neeskens Kebano. Jay had been awaiting this moment ever since his goal in the Carabao Cup almost exactly a year ago.
Amid deafening roars from the stands Fulham began the match with a furious onslaught spearheaded by Mitrovic, who took advantage of a loose ball to set up Stansfield. His shot was deflected onto the bar and Bobby DeCordova-Reid slid the rebound home, thus scoring in less than a minute – not the classiest of goals, but it proved a tremendous boost.
The home team maintained the pressure with Andreas Pereira constantly troubling the shaky Brentford defence.
After Mitrovic had won a corner Andreas delivered the ball to the head of Joao Palhinho, who doubled the home side’s advantage with a powerful header past goalkeeper David Raya.
Shortly afterwards, Andreas initiated a mid-air collision with Ben Mee that may have deserved more than a yellow card from referee Peter Bankes. Almost exactly three years ago Bankes’s leniency gave Nottingham Forest an undeserved victory at the Cottage and on an earlier occasion he rejected a penalty appeal when Sheyi Ojo was knocked off balance by a QPR player. On Saturday, Pereira was the beneficiary of the referee’s leniency, and the Brazilian went on to be voted supporters’ man of the match.
Referee policy
Peter Bankes’s style of officiating, consistent over the years, now seems to be standard policy. It has its advantages – Saturday’s game would have been spoilt by an early red card – but let us hope that it does not encourage a return to the violent challenges of the past.
Two goals up after 20 minutes, Marco Silva’s men relaxed a little and we saw Brentford’s true quality, though they did not score until just before the interval, Mathias Jensen’s corner being flicked home by an unmarked Christian Noorgard.
Whatever the respective managers’ half-time instructions, it was Thomas Frank’s that had the greater effect.
Ignoring all the catcalls from (some) home supporters Ivan Toney foxed Tosin and shot on the turn past Leno, only to be judged offside. The striker suffered the same disappointment soon afterwards but was finally able to celebrate in the 71st minute. Cheekily, he copied Mitro’s gesture of triumph – but if these two marksmen are going to compete for the rest of the season it can only be beneficial for west London.
The action did not stop but the match seemed destined for a draw. Marco Silva thought differently and sent on Tom Cairney and Kevin Mbabu with 13 minutes left, substitutions that turned the game.
Just before full time, Mbabu’s swirling centre was headed in by the Serb master, a just reward for his constant endeavour and his more focussed attitude. Brentford went away empty handed with a 3-2 loss.
The half-time guest at Saturday’s match was the hugely popular Brede Hangeland, a reminder of the great Roy Hodgson days when Fulham looked secure in the Premier League and were showing ambition beyond their station.
However, any hopes of success in this season’s Carabao Cup were dashed on Tuesday night when the Whites succumbed to the Red Devils of Crawley Town. Silva tried out several newcomers and had every right to expect a better performance.
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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