Fulham gains promotion alongside Leeds United and West Brom into the premier league after winning the championship playoff for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. The West Londoner defeated neighbours Brentford 2-1 after extra time at the Wembley Stadium to secure their Premiership status.
Fulham was favoured behind Leeds United by the bookmakers at the start of the 2019/20 season to secure one(1) of the two(2) automatic promotion spots available. However, The Cottagers failed to secure a top-two(2) finish but secured 4th place that ensured their playoff participation.
When Fulham played Brentford in both league encounters in the regular season, it was The Bees that emerged a 3-0 aggregate winner(1-0, 2-0) and judging by the club's respective semifinal displays, the odds favour a 3rd Brentford win, however, Scot Parker-led Fulham had other ideas.
Having gone the normal time goalless, the evenly contested match busted into life in stoppage time of 1st-15 minute of the extra time. Fulham's Left-back Joe Bryan's 105th-minute free-kick caught everyone on the pitch off guard to beat Brentford goalkeeper David Raya to open the scores.
Brentford probed and prowled for an equalizer but was undone yet again by Fulham's counter-attack. An unlikely hero and left-back Joe Bryan(117') combined with teammate Aleksandar Mitrovic inside the box to tuck away from about 10 yards out to take a 2-goal lead.
Brentford did get a consolation goal deep in stoppage time when Henrik Dalsgaard(120+4') nodded in Christian Noergaard knock back header. Another night of despair for The Bees as their playoffs curse lingers on(it's now 9-failed attempts across all divisions).
Fulham bagged in excess of £160m as prize money after they defeated Aton Villa 1-0 in the playoff final to secure promotion for 2018/19 premier league season. A large chunk of the money, an estimated £105m was spent on new signings as they became the first newly-promoted club to smash £100m transfer threshold in a window. Appallingly, The Cottagers lost 26 league matches, drew 5 and recorded just 7 wins, registering 26 points all season as they finished the season in 19th place.
It's hard to tell what went wrong with the Fulham last season despite the summer spending spree. Certainly, their defending was shambolic as they conceded the most goal(81 goals). Can they avoid the immediate drop this time around? The onus is on former club captain turned manager Parker to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Congratulations to The Cottagers
Comments