- Fulham is back in the English Premier League after a one-year absence.
- The Cottagers defeated Brentford in the Championship playoff finals, 2-1 after extra-time.
- Joe Bryan scored both goals, one of them fantastic from almost 35 yards.
Fulham Comes Back to EPL
In a highly intense battle at empty Wembley, Fulham defeated Brentford with 2-1, earning themselves a promotion to the top tier of English soccer. The hero and the star of the match was a two-time scorer Joe Bryan.
He would first find the net from 35 yards, after a clever free-kick, when he saw that the Bees goalkeeper David Raya left his closer angle exposed, expecting a cross into the box.
Bryan, who had instructions from his manager, Scott Parker, to follow Raya’s positioning, immediately noticed the chance to surprise the Spaniard. Prior to the game, the two were observing footages in which Parker saw that Raya often comes out too high, and that there might be a chance for utilizing his habit.
“We did our due diligence on the goalkeeper,” said Parker. “He [Raya] has got a very aggressive high starting position on free-kicks. We brought it up in a set-play meeting.”
Mitro Factor
Shortly before, Fulham’s boss brought in Aleksandar Mitrovic to the pitch, and all the eyes were on Championship’s best scorer who is dominant in the air. That is why Raya came out of the goal line, preparing for the Serb.
The two would later be in the middle of attention once more, with Mitrovic assisting Bryan for his second goal, in the 117th minute. The left-back stormed towards the goal, made a laser-precise give and go pass with Mitro, who served him with perfect assists some seven or eight yards inside the box. There was no problem for Bryan to net once again.
“We’ve been written off five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 times. I think I read somewhere we were supposed to be scared of them,” he said after the game.
Brentford’s Tough Destiny
The Bees scored one goal in the stoppage time of the second extra-time, with Henrik Dalsgaard’s header ending in Fulham’s net.
“It’s tough when you lose a final like this in a very tight game but I’m extremely proud of my players. We have gone from a mid-table club to a team who, in the league table, was the third-best team,” said Brentford’s coach Thomas Frank.
His team suffered a massive failure, as they first dropped what was a clear situation in the regular part of the championship, and after that, lost the playoff finals. It seems that their dream of returning to the Premiership will have to wait for at least another year. The last season Bees spent in the top tier was back in 1947.
As for Fulham, they are back once again, and according to Parker’s words, there won’t be too many changes during the transfer window. Fulham’s boss saw what happened two years ago once Cottagers earned a promotion, then bought too many expensive players, only to suffer relegation at the end of the season.
