Nick Ames was at the Cottage tonight to witness Fulham squeak into the final. Here’s his report. Enjoy that one ... and thanks for reading this one. Nighty night!
Neil Harris looks to the future. “Since the moment I’ve come in the building, the players performances, the way they’ve improved ... I can’t be any prouder of the players, they’ve been class for me. Class. We’ve come up against a very talented Fulham side, and there are two very good sides in the final. What Fulham have done is score at the key moments. The start of the second half. The last kick of the game. And tonight just after we scored. So they’ve always found a way to wrestle that momentum. We just couldn’t find that moment, but the players have done me proud. They’ve done the fans proud too. We can compete with the top sides. We feel the capital city of Wales should have a team in the Premier League, but we have to earn the right to get there. I’m gutted, but we have to be even better next year.”
Scott Parker seems more relieved than happy. “The way the game panned out was not how I expected it. But a wounded animal who had nothing to lose put us under pressure. They put the ball in the box from all over the pitch, and we didn’t deal with that well enough. We didn’t put our stamp on the game. We were nervous. But we won the game over two legs, and did a good job away from home, so we move on and it’s up for grabs. Come the end of the game we’ve not totally folded. We are disappointed in our performance tonight, but Tuesday will be a different game and we need to stay bright and positive.”
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Fulham defender Michael Hector adds: “We deserve to be there. We can’t wait. They’re a physical side. When you don’t take your chances, it’s going to be a tough night. They had nothing to lose. We got the job done, and that’s all that matters. At Wembley anything can happen, and we’re positive. It’s a shame Wembley won’t be full, but we’ll have to create our own atmosphere.”
Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney speaks. “We had the worst start you can think of. These 2-0 leads are a bit weird in the head, it feels comfortable but it’s not at the same time. We let ourselves down by not playing our usual game and inviting pressure. But we showed a different side to us in the second half, when our backs were against the wall. We got over the line. We’re going to need to dig in against a very good Brentford side. I think we deserve to be there, and Brentford do as well. It’ll be a good final.”
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Fulham deserve huge credit for eventually stemming the Cardiff tide in that second half. An equaliser that would have taken the match to extra time looked inevitable for a while, such was the verve the Bluebirds played with after the restart. But the hosts held on. Deservedly so: they were the better team over the two legs. Next Tuesday’s Wembley showdown for a place in the Premier League promises to be a belter. Cardiff, when the pain subsides, should take heart from an excellent second-leg performance, and the knowledge that they’re going in the right direction under Neil Harris. There’s always next year.
FULL TIME: Fulham 1-2 Cardiff City (agg: 3-2)
That was Cardiff’s last chance! They were magnificent in that second half, but it wasn’t enough. Fulham dug in, and they’ll face their west London neighbours in Tuesday’s play-off final!
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90 min +5: From the resulting free kick, hit long, Paterson heads down for Glatzel, who blazes over from 12 yards.
90 min +4: Onomah, rolling on the floor, holds onto the ball and refuses to let go. He’s rightly booked, though Bennett, who was trying to wrestle it off him, should walk for snidely pressing his boot on the prone Fulham player’s leg. That’s poor form.
90 min +3: A loose Ralls pass sails into the stand, Morrison unable to keep it in play. The big man looks pained and waves his arms about in despair.
90 min +2: The tension is palpable. Scott Parker paces up and down the touchline, chewing with Allardycian ferocity.
90 min +1: The first of five extra minutes passes by. Can Cardiff force extra time? They’ve scored six goals after the 90-minute mark this season, a total only bettered by Sheffield Wednesday’s eight.
90 min: Le Marchand comes on with a note for Cairney, who has a good old read before discarding it, the litterbug. Bryan makes way.
89 min: Fulham have established a semblance of control, just when they need it. Cardiff can’t keep hold of the ball in the opposition half.
87 min: Christie tries to float a Glenn Hoddle style chip over Smithies from a tight angle on the right. He doesn’t quite manage it.
86 min: Ralls swings the free kick into the box. Rodak punches confidently clear. Kamara breaks up the other end, but can’t quite burst clear. Still, the ball’s now up the other end, as the clock ticks on.
85 min: Hector and Paterson go up for a high ball, just to the left of the Fulham box. It looks like a fair 50-50 challenge, but the referee deems it a foul by Hector, as Paterson comes off worse. Hector is truly livid, not least because there’s real danger here.
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83 min: Tomlin’s race is run. He sticks out a leg, hoping to gather a Bennett pass down the left wing. His hamstring immediately pings, and he’ll be replaced by Whyte. Poor Tomlin leaves the field close to tears. He’s made a huge difference since coming on.
82 min: Tomlin tries to release Glatzel down the middle with a gentle dink, but Ream reads the situation well and steps in to batter clear.
81 min: Cardiff replace Murphy with Paterson.
80 min: Christie twinkletoes his way in from the right, teasing Bennett before attempting a curler towards the top left. Bennett deflects out for a corner. Glatzel slaps the corner clear with a towering header.
78 min: Mendez-Laing makes good down the inside-left channel and sends a diagonal swerver wide right of the Fulham goal. I have no idea how the scoreline is still just 1-2. It could quite easily have been anything.
76 min: Fulham make a defensive change, sending on Odoi for Knockaert.
75 min: Kamara whips a glorious cross in from the left. Decordova-Reid stoops to head home from six yards, but Nelson, at full stretch, eyebrows a clearance away from the striker! That is quite astonishing. The resulting corner leads to nothing.
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74 min: But one decent Fulham attack will end this. Knockaert and Christie combine neatly down the right. Christie tries to slam across for Kamara, but Nelson intercepts with his chest. Fulham want a penalty, but they’re not getting one.
73 min: No idea how that free kick didn’t result in a goal. On the touchline, Neil Harris holds his head in his hands. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Fulham are clinging on.
72 min: Astonishing scenes from the Cardiff free kick out on the left! Mendez-Laing and Nelson can’t slam home amid a pinball melee. Rodak blocks well. Then tips over marvellously as Vaulks tries to lash home from an angle on the right.
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71 min: The game restarts, but not before Cardiff replace Ward with Glatzel.
70 min: And that, my old MBM pals, is time for isotonic refreshment.
69 min: Murphy robs Christie down the left and is upended from behind by the embarrassed Fulham defender for his trouble. Christie goes into the book. It’s not certain that we’ll be ending this match with a full set of players.
68 min: Fulham have done very little in attack since the restart, but suddenly Kamara bursts into action. First he drops a shoulder to move in from the left and belts towards the bottom left. Smithies tips around the post. Then, after the corner, Kamara has another whack, curling confidently towards the same corner. It’s heading in, but Smithies fingertips onto the base of the post and away. What a pair of stunning saves to keep Cardiff in this semi-final!
66 min: BREAKING NEWS: Fulham successfully defend a long throw. Reed heads Vaulks’ fling clear with great ease.
65 min: Tomlin threatens to break clear down the left but the flag goes up for offside. Fulham are not playing with their usual confidence right now. Meanwhile here’s Jake Lynch: “Long throws into the mixer; biff-bang and it flies in. Wow, Cardiff are gonna be a real joy if they get to the Premier League aren’t they?” Well it’ll certainly be fun watching the likes of Chelsea and Everton try to defend against them.
63 min: After an elongated process of faffing, Fulham take the worst free kick in the entire history of association football. Onomah shapes to shoot, but then stutters incredibly obviously before stopping stock still. It’s not much of a dummy. After a Pinteresque beat, Cairney slips before making contact and floats a looper miles wide left. Oh dear. Fortunately there’s nobody here to see that.
61 min: Cairney launches a rare Fulham attack, drifting in from the left and driving towards the box. Ralls is forced to take a booking, chopping him down before he reaches shooting range. A free kick just to the left of centre, just outside the D.
60 min: Tomlin tries to spin and Zidane a shot towards the top right. But his effort is blocked and he’s handled in any case. Over 70 percent of the play during the last five minutes has taken place in Fulham’s final third.
58 min: Ralls wastes the free kick. But this is a very impressive start to the second half by Cardiff, who clearly don’t intend to die wondering. Rodak tries to take the sting out of the game by taking an age over a goal kick. He’s booked as a result. Fulham need to clear their heads quicksmart.
57 min: Cardiff are well on top here. Murphy makes his presence felt down the right by Bacuna. Bryan shoves him off the field and this is a free kick that’s basically a corner.
56 min: Mendez-Laing drives down the left in the style of Ted McMinn. He forces the ball across towards Tomlin, whose first-time shot from the edge of the box is blocked. Then another phase of attack as Murphy slips Bacuna into space down the right. Bacuna fizzes a ball across the face of the Fulham goal, and Ward is a toenail away from turning it in. So close!
54 min: Tomlin plays a cute pass round the corner for Mendez-Laing down the right. Christie slips under the resulting cross. The ball drops to Murphy on the penalty spot. He’s got time to take a touch, but doesn’t realise it, and sends a miserable first-time header softly into the arms of Rodak. What a chance that was! Fulham have been rattled by that super-early second-half Cardiff goal.
52 min: Now it’s Vaulks who goes into the referee’s notebook for hanging out a leg across Reed. Knockaert tries to catch Smithies out at the resulting free kick, but drags a long-range daisycutter wide right.
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50 min: Decordova-Reid is booked for cheekily blocking Smithies’ drop kick. On the touchline, Scott Parker wears a worried frown. This is going to be some half of football.
48 min: How about that for a double substitution?! Those were the first touches by both Mendez-Laing and Tomlin. Fulham try to hit back within 24 seconds again, but Morrison manages to hook Christie’s right-wing cross clear.
GOAL! Fulham 1-2 Cardiff City (Tomlin 47); agg 3-2
Vaulks flings it long, into the mixer. Fulham once again fail to deal with it. Mendez-Laing, with his first touch, batters a header towards the top left. Rodak claws it out, but only to Tomlin, who sweeps in by the left-hand post!
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46 min: Cardiff start the half on the front foot, swarming down the left and winning a throw deep in Fulham territory on the left. And from that ...
Cardiff get the second half underway. They need two goals, and hope Tomlin and Mendez-Laing will help get them. They replace Pack and Hoilett. Meanwhile there’s a swap for Fulham too, as Kamara replaces the injured Kebano.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Fulham 1-1 Cardiff City (agg: 3-1)
Two early goals in the space of 24 seconds, followed by a whole lot of end-to-end fun. Fulham are three-quarters of the way there, but this isn’t over yet. The second half promises some magical entertainment. Stay with us, why don’t you. No flipping!
45 min +4: From the resulting free kick, Christie whacks from distance. Smithies parries to the right, where Knockaert lurks. Knockaert drops a shoulder and whips towards the top left. The effort deflects off a Cardiff defender. Nothing comes of the corner that follows.
45 min +3: Kenabo threatens to break clear down the left. Bacuna takes a handful of his shirt and is booked.
45 min +2: Smithies is forced into action again, racing from his box to blooter clear, with Onomah chasing after a long ball.
45 min +1: The first of five added minutes nearly brings Fulham a goal, as Cairney loops down the left wing for Knockaert, who tries to round Smithies on the outside. The keeper makes himself big and snaffles.
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45 min: An absurd shoving match between Decordova-Reid and Nelson explodes out of thin air. Both consider escalating matters by throwing hands; both quickly catch themselves on and cool down.
43 min: ... then suddenly Murphy throws a couple of cute shapes out on the left and swings long for Hoilett, who can’t quite get the cross under control for a shot. That was lovely patient play by Cardiff, followed by some sublime skill out on the wing from Murphy.
42 min: Cardiff stroke it around the middle awhile, playing Fulham at their own game.
40 min: Reed tries to sidefoot into the bottom-right corner from the best part of 40 yards. Full marks for ambition, if nothing else.
38 min: Pack sprays a glorious left-to-right pass towards Bacuna, who fires through an empty Fulham box. Cardiff come again, Ward having a speculative pop from 30 yards. Nope. Cardiff are giving this a good go, though. A much better performance than Monday night’s effort already.
36 min: Morrison is booked for swinging an arm in Decordova-Reid’s face. The resulting free kick, out on the left, is a chance for Fulham to load the box. Bryan swings it in, and Nelson batters clear.
34 min: One corner leads to another, and the second’s a non-event. Cardiff try to counter in the basic fashion, hitting long for Ward, but the ball sails through harmlessly to Rodak. This match has a very pleasing basketball rhythm.
33 min: Cairney drifts in from the left and lays off to Knockaert, who drops a shoulder and curls powerfully towards the bottom left. Smithies does extremely well to turn around the post for a corner. What a save!
31 min: A potentially tie-saving tackle by Morrison, who keeps his team in it by poking the ball away from Decordova-Reid, nearly sent clear down the middle by Knockaert. Both teams are going full out for goals.
30 min: Christie opens his legs and tears down the right, reaching such speed that only Decordova-Reid can keep up in the middle. He can’t find the striker with his cross.
28 min: Vaulks swings another free kick into the Fulham box from the right. It’s claimed by Rodak. Kebano sashays down the left and cuts back for Christie, romping in from the other flank. Christie’s shot is blocked. This is great end-to-end entertainment!
27 min: Knockaert bustles down the right and wins a corner. The set piece leads to some pinball, and the ball drops to Onomah, in space just inside the box. He takes a whack towards the bottom right, and it looks like heading in, but the shot hits his own man Kebano! Heads are held in hands. A lucky break for Cardiff.
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26 min: The game restarts, with everyone freshly hydrated. During the pause in play, Sky showed replays of the long throw that led to the corner that led to Cardiff’s goal. Vaulks had a foot in play when flinging it in. No doubt that’ll become a hot topic should Cardiff turn this around, but let’s not go there yet.
24 min: And that’s drinks!
23 min: Ralls knocks it long again. Cardiff are clearly working on Rodak’s nerves. The keeper stays on his line again, a good decision this time as he easily claims Morrison’s tame header.
22 min: Play restarts. Morrison is good to continue and is quickly back into the action. His busy work down the right allows Hoilett to drive up the wing again, and the winger is tripped by Bryan. Another set piece chance for Cardiff.
21 min: A long pause as ice is applied to Morrison’s neck. He’s clearly taken a sore one. A scrap of good news in that at least he doesn’t look dazed.
19 min: Ralls swings it long, hoping for a replay of the opening goal. But Rodak comes off his line this time, punching positively clear. He accidentally clashes with Morrison in mid-air, and play is stopped when the Cardiff defender lands awkwardly.
18 min: Hoilett dribbles with glue-on-boot brilliance down the right. He’s eventually sandwiched to the floor and this is a free kick for Cardiff just to the side of the Fulham box. Danger for Fulham, seeing Cardiff have scored 25 times from set pieces this season, plus another this evening.
16 min: Morrison quarterbacks a long diagonal pass towards Bennett on the left. The full back’s in acres, but Murphy had been holding Christie in the middle and a good situation for Cardiff goes up in needless smoke.
14 min: Fulham draw some pretty triangles down the left, Onomah at the centre of everything. Cardiff are struggling to get out of their final third right now.
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13 min: Both players are fine to continue. What a body blow for Cardiff, who had their dream start ruined in a matter of seconds. Fulham rub it in by stroking the ball around in the calm style, forcing the visitors to do plenty of chasing on this extremely warm evening.
11 min: Nelson and Christie clash heads. Time for a breather, if nothing else. What a start to this match!
GOAL! Fulham 1-1 Cardiff City (Kebano 9); agg 3-1
Fulham come straight back at Cardiff. Decordova-Reed is allowed to race freely down the right. He fires low into the centre, where Kebano flips into the bottom left!
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GOAL! Fulham 0-1 Cardiff City (Nelson 8); agg 2-1
The corner’s hit long. Rodak fails to come off his line. He claims he’s been impeded by Ward, but there’s not enough in the very mild grapple for position; the keeper should be stronger. Nelson rises highest, and slams a header into the top left! Game on! Except hold on, because ...
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7 min: Vaulks gets another go. His bouncing bomb loops over Nelson and Rodak is forced to tip over the bar. And from the resulting corner ...
6 min: Vaulks launches a long throw into the Fulham mixer. It’s claimed by Rodak, but turns out it was a foul throw.
4 min: Cardiff try a couple of long passes, to no great effect. Both approaches have thus been laid out in plain sight already.
2 min: Cardiff won the toss, so they chose to turn Fulham around, meaning the hosts will attack the Hammersmith End in first half. Kebano heads in that very direction down the left, but is stopped in his tracks by Bacuna. The hosts then probe down the other flank through Monday’s hero Onomah. He lays off to Knockaert, who whistles a low shot towards the bottom right. It’s an easy gather for Smithies ... but a lively start by the hosts.
Kick off: Fulham v Cardiff City (agg: 2-0)
And we’re off! Fulham get the second leg underway, but not before all players take a knee of solidarity, respect and love. Black lives matter.
The teams are out! It’s a positively delightful summer’s evening by the side of the dirty old rolling river. Craven Cottage is one of the most picturesque grounds in the country at the worst of times, so it’s a sight for sore eyes tonight. Fulham wear their famous white shirts, while Cardiff wear first-choice Bluebird blue. It’s a rare old aesthetic treat. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Scott Parker talks! “We have given ourselves a very good opportunity but it’s half time in the tie, and we understand that. We need to produce a performance and get the job done. We’re playing against a wounded animal in Cardiff, having lost at home, so the game will bring something different and we need to be ready. Cardiff haven’t got a lot to lose, so we need to stamp our authority on the game.” He also reports that the missing Mitrovic “just wasn’t quite ready” after some tests yesterday and this morning. “We need to go into the game with players who are fully fit,” he adds while scratching his face. A little treat there for body language experts and conspiracy theorists. (It’s a minor hamstring issue.)
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Some pre-match fighting talk from Neil Harris. “We quickly got over the disappointment of the first leg, and conceding the second goal so late. We put positivity back into the group, showing the boys some clips where we were good, and where we can improve and combat Fulham’s strengths. Also some positivity about our away record. Since January we’ve won six of our away games and scored two goals on four occasions. We’ve been strong away from home, and we have to take solace in that tonight. As professional sportsmen, anything is possible, and the players have faith in each other. That gives us belief. Scoring the first goal will add to that belief.”
Still no Aleksandar Mitrovic for Fulham, not even on the bench. The Championship leading scorer remains too much of an injury risk for Scott Parker, who names an unchanged Fulham side from Monday night.
Cardiff boss Neil Harris makes three changes. Will Vaulks, Josh Murphy and Danny Ward come in for Lee Tomlin, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Robert Glatzel.
The teams
Fulham: Rodak, Hector, Kebano, Cairney, Ream, De Cordova-Reid, Reed, Christie, Bryan, Knockaert, Onomah.
Subs: Bettinelli, Odoi, Mawson, Le Marchand, Sessegnon, McDonald, Johansen, Cavaleiro, Kamara.
Cardiff City: Smithies, Bacuna, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett, Pack, Vaulks, Ralls, Murphy, Hoilett, Ward.
Subs: Etheridge, Sanderson, Bamba, Smith, Tomlin, Whyte, Mendez-Laing, Paterson, Glatzel.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
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Preamble
So much for a South Walian stramash in the Championship play-off final. Brentford did for Swansea City last night, and now it looks like a London derby will be on the cards instead.
Fulham are two goals to the good after a dominating second-half performance at the Cardiff City Stadium on Monday evening. Josh Onomah scored a remarkable goal of Maradonaesque poise and technique, while Neeskens Kebano curled in a fine free kick, and now Scott Parker’s side are within touching distance of Tuesday’s final.
Neil Harris’s Bluebirds are really up against it, not least because they’ve now been beaten 2-0 by Fulham twice in July already. But the state of play would be markedly different had Michael Hector not sensationally denied Robert Glatzel early on four days ago with an outrageous goal-line clearance. So it’s not as though Cardiff don’t have the tools to get back into this. Still, the fine margins between success and failure in professional sport, eh?
Fulham are hot favourites to seal the deal on a balmy night down by the river. Wembley is calling. Can the folk from faraway town Cardiff shock them? We’ll soon find out. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm.
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