I’ll leave you with that thought. Fulham are deservedly through to the Championship final after beating Derby 2-1 on aggregate and will play either Aston Villa or Middlesbrough at Wembley. Paul Macinnes was at Craven Cottage to report on a night to remember for Fulham. That’s all from me. Night!
Ryan Sessegnon is 17. Seventeen! The clarity of mind he displayed with his goal hinted at a special talent. Would it be worth taking him to the World Cup for the experience? England did that with Rio Ferdinand in 1998.
Slavisa Jokanovic speaks about Ryan Sessegnon: “This man is special. Today he showed a great mentality and quality.”
Slavisa Jokanovic speaks: “This club needs this kind of happiness. We found it today. In the end, after 43 years, we will play at Wembley. It is a great achievement for us. We played very well and deserved this victory. The players trust in themselves. My job is to believe in them and they played very good football and showed great self-belief. Without confidence it is hard to play this kind of game.”
Fulham will face either Aston Villa or Middlesbrough in the final on 26 May. Villa won the first leg of the other semi-final 1-0 and will be confident of going through at Villa Park tomorrow night.
Here’s Mitrovic! “It is unbelievable. It is amazing. We got the result we wanted. I think we deserved it because we showed better football.”
Ryan Sessegnon speaks: “We said we were going to give it a go. It was special. We got the first goal. Thankfully I got it and we kept going. In the last few games we lost our way a bit but we got our composure back. We believe in our style of play and today it showed that if we keep going we’ll get our reward. I just play my normal game. I get my head down and work hard for the team.”
Fulham fans are on the pitch, celebrating like mad after second-half goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Denis Odoi swung the tie their way! Derby’s players are devastated.
Full-time: Fulham 2-1 Derby County (2-1 agg)
Fulham have done it! They’re in the Championship play-off final! They’ve finally won a play-off game! Not a bad time to end their torrid run.
90 min+6: Wisdom’s cross is headed wide by one of three Derby’s cross at the far post.
90 min+5: Vydra tries to release Palmer. Ream is in the way.
90 min+4: Derby hoist the ball into the Fulham area. It falls to Nugent. A shot. A block. Fulham clear their lines. Craven Cottage is anxious.
90 min+1: Oliver Norwood replaces Tom Cairney, who takes his sweet time leaving the pitch. There will be six added minutes.
89 min: Weimann charges into the area but Sessegnon races back to challenge him. Weimann almost wins the ball back and Sessegnon seems to pull him back. No penalty, though.
88 min: Johnson backheels the ball to Nugent, who slashes a shot miles wide from 18 yards. Derby have faded badly since Fulham’s second. But there could yet be a late twist.
84 min: The game is being played in Derby’s half, which is unhelpful from Derby’s perspective. They aren’t threatening at all.
81 min: Johansen shoots straight at Carson from 20 yards. Derby need something coherent. Time is running out.
78 min: Palmer throws the ball at McDonald. Both men are booked.
77 min: Huddlestone trips Mitrovic. He’s booked.
76 min: Tomas Kalas replaces Matt Targett.
75 min: England’s David Nugent replaces Cameron Jerome.
74 min: Luckily for Fulham, nothing comes from the corner. Instead they break at high speed. Kamara, so quick, surges down the right and he’s got acres of space to attack, with nobody between him and Carson. He charges forward and sees the Derby goalkeeper running towards him. He lobs the ball over Carson, who’s stranded outside his area, and then he falls over, claiming a foul. He’s booked for diving. Dearie me.
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73 min: Fulham concede a ridiculous corner, Ream’s backpass from just inside his own half putting Bettinelli in trouble. Bettinelli can’t keep it from going behind. Jokanovic is fuming.
71 min: Palmer darts to the byline and turns a cross into the middle. Weimann, all alone, heads over from six yards!
70 min: Derby have responded strongly to falling behind on aggregate, pushing Fulham back. It’s the home team’s turn to feel the nerves. It doesn’t feel like this is over yet. Far from it.
67 min: Derby respond with two changes, Matej Vydra and Kasey Palmer replacing Ikechi Anya and Tom Lawrence. Gary Rowett is unhappy.
GOAL! Fulham 2-0 Derby County (Odoi, 66 min; 2-1 agg)
Sessegnon sends the corner to the near post from the right and Odoi, leaping above Forsyth, glances a stunning header into the far corner! Fulham lead on aggregate and Craven Cottage has gone mad!
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65 min: Kamara charges down the outside and rams a shot into the side-netting. It took a slight deflection, though, so here’s a Fulham corner. And...
64 min: Mitrovic sends one over from 25 yards. He’s had so many attempts tonight.
62 min: Johansen’s booked for ending a Derby counter with a tactical foul on Jerome.
60 min: After a brief lull, Mitrovic produces an exceptional turn to shrug off Forsyth, but his low shot curls just wide of the right post from 18 yards.
56 min: Derby finally relieve some of the pressure and counter down the left. Lawrence hooks a ball through to Johnson, who holds off his man before forcing Bettinelli to turn his bobbling shot behind. Nothing comes from the corner.
53 min: Fredericks can’t control on the edge of the area but the ball runs to Johansen, who sees his shot deflected over. Derby are being pinned back. Luckily for them, Keogh has recovered from his blow to the noggin.
51 min: Fredericks escapes down the right but Carson plunges to collect his low centre. Fulham are turning the screw. Derby look a bit rattled. Keogh and Davies both go for the same ball and succeed in sending it out for a Fulham corner. Keogh stays down. That was a nasty clash of heads with his fellow centre-back.
49 min: Derby look to hit back immediately, Fredericks dozing off at the far post, but Anya can’t control his header.
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Derby County (Sessegnon, 47 min; 1-1 agg)
Matt Targett picks up possession on the left. Nobody closes him down, so he sends a cross into the area. Johansen, in between two Derby defenders, brilliantly chests it down for Sessegnon to control with his chest and spank a left-footed shot high past Carson from 12 yards! What composure from the 17-year-old! The tie is level!
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47 min: “Derby’s away jersey is eye-catching,” says Peter Oh. “It’s got a safety yellow hue to it, but to Fulham fans it could soon start take on a shade of traffic signal yellow.”
46 min: Fulham, in desperate need of a goal, get the second half underway.
Half-time: Fulham 0-0 Derby County (0-1 agg)
Fulham have had the chances but they have nothing to show for their dominance. Derby will be feeling quietly encouraged. They’re 45 minutes from Wembley.
45 min: There will be one added minute. Mitrovic is having a moan at the officials about being bundled over on the edge of the area by Forsyth, who was playing with fire.
44 min: Closer and closer. Targett swings in a cross from the left. Mitrovic rises above Forsyth, six yards out, and his powerful header looks destined for the back of the net - only for Carson to make a stunning reflex save! Fulham can’t believe it.
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43 min: Fredericks runs at Anya, who’s pushed back into the area, and the right-back decides to have a pop. It’s dipping under the bar but Carson leaps back to push it over! Fulham are getting closer.
Fulham’s Ryan Fredericks rues a missed chance Photograph: John Walton/PA
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42 min: Jerome goes for goal from 25 yards, but his effort’s dreadful.
41 min: Kamara pops up on the left, cutting inside and letting fly from 20 yards. It’s low and swerving, but Carson beats it out. Fulham settle for a corner. But that comes to nothing.
38 min: Anya pulls a cross into the area from the left byline. The ball eventually comes to Wisdom on the edge of the area, but the right wing-back blooters his shot over.
36 min: Mitrovic receives the ball with his back to goal. A drop of the shoulder shakes off Davies and opens up a sight of goal, only for the striker to bend his 18-yarder inches past the left post. The Fulham fans were getting ready to celebrate. Instead they greet their team’s latest miss with anguished howls.
34 min: Mitrovic drags a shot wide from 25 yards. All a bit anxious from Fulham. Derby are taking every opportunity to waste a few seconds when they can.
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32 min: Johnson screws a shot wide after a decent Derby break. McDonald, meanwhile, is lucky not to be booked for a cynical trip on Weimann.
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30 min: Sessegnon has had six touches. Admittedly he might have scored with one of them, but Fulham need to work the ball to the 17-year-old more.
28 min: Mitrovic glances a header a few yards wide from Fredericks’ cross.
25 min: McDonald threads a pass to Mitrovic, who holds off his marker and lays the ball off to Johansen, who arrows a drive just over the angle of post and bar from 18 yards.
23 min: Anya saunters down the left, does a stepover to make space for a cross and zips a low ball into the six-yard box. It’s a fine delivery but it’s just behind Jerome, who can’t scramble it in, much to Fulham’s relief. The ball’s hacked away.
20 min: Mitrovic plays a one-two with Sessegnon, but he scuffs his shot straight at Carson from 18 yards. Up the other end, Jerome turns and knocks a clever ball through to Weimann. The Austrian’s dangerous cross has to be turned over his own bar by Fredericks.
Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Derby County’s Curtis Davies battle for the ball Photograph: John Walton/PA
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19 min: Derby are proving tough to break down. Fulham are going to require patience.
17 min: McDonald looks like he’s going to run to a loose ball on the edge of the area, only for Cairney to take it off his captain. The move fizzles out. Oh dear.
15 min: Lawrence’s free-kick is headed away as far as Weimann, who volleys well over from 25 yards.
14 min: A Fulham attack breaks down and Lawrence is able to lead Derby away down the left, eventually winning a free-kick when Kamara clips his heels.
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11 min: Derby loft a deep free-kick into the Fulham area. Keogh beats the offside trap on the left and lofts a high cross into the area. Nothing comes from it in the end, but Derby are showing signs of having the measure of Fulham in the air.
8 min: Jerome heads on a long ball and Fredericks puts it behind for Derby’s first corner. Cairney clears it at the near post and Fulham counter after Derby twice give the ball away cheaply on the right. It’s a three-on-one break, led by Kamara, and Derby are all over the place! Kamara sweeps the ball across to Sessegnon, who takes a touch and shoots high towards the right corner, only for Carson to palm the youngster’s effort wide!
7 min: Derby attack for the first time and Lawrence whips in a cross from the right. Weimann attacks it but Bettinelli gets there first. Weimann, sliding in, takes the Fulham keeper out with his momentum. It was an accident. After a brief exchange of words, all’s well.
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3 min: Mitrovic bustles into the area on the right and forces Davies to concede a corner. “What an unbelievable run of form from Aleksandar Mitrovic at the end of the season,” says Shaun Wilkinson. “A question for you - if Fulham don’t go up, should Rafa Benitez give him more of a chance to show what he can do next season? He may not be 100% reliable, but I am surely not alone in thinking he should at least get the chance to show he can be better than Gayle and Joselu.”
I think he’s really benefited from working under a Serbian manager. Jokanovic has been able to connect with him. I doubt Benitez will fully trust him. Mitrovic hasn’t really shown much in the Premier League yet.
2 min: Fulham, looking to start quickly, attack after Jerome concedes possession. Johansen feeds Kamara, who can’t do anything with a low centre from the right. Fulham keep pressing, though, and Cairney shoots straight at Carson from 25 yards.
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Peep! Derby, in fluorescent yellow, get the game underway in the south-west London late-evening sun. Fulham, in white shirts and black shorts, are kicking from left to right.
Here come the teams! Craven Cottage, such a lovely ground, is rocking.
Team news
Fulham: Bettinelli; Fredericks, Odoi, Ream, Targett; McDonald, Johansen; Kamara, Cairney, Sessegnon; Mitrovic. Subs: Button, Kalas, Christie, Norwood, Piazon, Ayite, Fonte.
Derby: Carson; Wisdom, Keogh, Davies, Forsyth, Anya; Huddlestone, Johnson, Lawrence; Weimann, Jerome. Subs: Roos, Palmer, Pearce, Ledley, Vydra, Hanson, Nugent.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh.
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An email! “Nerviness is right,” David Hopkins says. “I tried to tell myself that Derby squeezing up through the playoffs might not be a good thing after what happened last time they did that, but it hasn’t worked.”
While we wait for the team news, here’s Nick Miller’s preview of tonight’s game.
Enter #FFC! ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/WLundqzyFx
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) May 14, 2018
Hello
Are Fulham going to blow it? They might be about to blow it. They’re regarded by many as the best footballing side in the Championship – don’t shout at me, Wolves fans, that’s what other people are saying – but that might not stop them from blowing it. They’ve already missed out on automatic promotion to Cardiff City, despite going 476 games unbeaten, and are in danger of suffering more play-off woe after freezing in the first leg of their semi-final against Derby County on Friday night.
Derby arriving at Craven Cottage clutching a one-goal lead thanks to Cameron Jerome and Gary Rowett’s men will back themselves to get the job done. They can be a stubborn lot when they’re in the mood and will certainly take a repeat of the 1-1 draw they earned at this ground in November. Fulham, however, will back themselves to turn this around. They have the firepower to do so and Derby, remember, finished 13 points behind them in sixth place. You can make arguments for either side: welcome to the nerviness of a play-off semi-final.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
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