Late Wilson double sees Fulham come from behind to stun rivals Brentford
To say the opening stages of this clash were one sided would be an understatement, as Fulham started like a side possessed in this London derby.
Reiss Nelson was at the heart of everything good about the Cottagers, forcing a fine double save out of Mark Flekken inside the opening 10 minutes, before a fortuitous ricochet worked him a yard shortly after, but his snapshot whistled wide of the post.
But for all Fulham’s early dominance, they were simply undone by a moment of brilliance. Hardly known for being prolific, Vitaly Janelt only scored one goal in the entirety of last season, but he matched that tally here today – and in some style too, powering into the corner from all of 30-yards.
Fulham were undeterred by falling behind and continued to probe to break Brentford resilience, but their end product was distinctly lacking.
Emile Smith Rowe evidenced that when he could only guide a header straight at Ethan Pinnock and into the grateful arms of Flekken, despite being left unmarked from Alex Iwobi’s cross.
Even so, Fulham signalled their intent from the get-go in the second half when Iwobi flashed an effort wide of the target. But the Bees were looking dangerous on the break, particularly down the left with Keane Lewis-Potter, whose wayward effort was a reminder that they were still a threat.
Fulham huffed and puffed throughout, and despite Marco Silva introducing Adama Traoré and Rodrigo Muniz in a bid to find that elusive goal, that killer pass in the final third was still lacking.
A Joachim Andersen header aside, Flekken was relatively untroubled throughout the second half, and Brentford put all their cards on the table five minutes from time, when they took Bryan Mbeumo off in place of Ben Mee, who came on to shore things up in the closing stages.
But their game plan backfired in drastic fashion in stoppage time, when Harry Wilson nipped in front of Mee to sensationally flick home Traoré’s cross and secure a point which left Fulham in the ascendancy in the dying moments.
The game sensationally had a fairytale ending for the hosts too, when with almost the last kick of the game, Antonee Robinson’s cross was headed home by Wilson to spark pandemonium inside Craven Cottage and fire Fulham into the top half.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Wilson (Fulham)
