Friday Fulham Stuff - 31/07/20...

[WhiteJC]

Fulham reach play-off final: Aleksandar Mitrovic may be fit for Wembley - Scott Parker

Aleksandar Mitrovic watched Fulham's second-leg loss to Cardiff in the stands at Craven Cottage

Fulham hope to call on their leading goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic in Tuesday's play-off final against west London rivals Brentford at Wembley.

A hamstring issue kept the Serbian out of the semi-final against Cardiff, which Fulham won 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 second-leg home loss.

However, boss Scott Parker has faith that the 26-goal front man can feature in the final at Wembley.

"He was close on Thursday, but wasn't quite ready," Parker said.

"He was probably the loudest voice I could hear up in the stands, roaring the players on and that's what it was all about in the second half, just getting behind each other.

"[Aleksandar] would've been a massive risk for us, so we hope he will be OK for Tuesday."

Neeskens Kebano, who scored in both legs of the semi-final, is another doubt with a hamstring strain but Parker is also hopeful the DR Congo international can overcome his niggle to feature.

After an impressive first-leg display in the Welsh capital, the second leg was at times a nervy affair for the Whites.

Despite Kebano's immediate reply to Curtis Nelson's early header re-establishing a two-goal cushion on aggregate, Bluebirds playmaker Lee Tomlin fired past Marek Rodak early in the second half to set up a tense second period for the hosts.


Manager Scott Parker and captain Tom Cairney will hope to lead Fulham to their second promotion to the Premier League in three seasons

"At times, we probably fell a bit short at dealing with the onslaught they bring to the game," Parker said. "It made it a bit of an uncomfortable night for us.

"What's most important is we've won the tie on aggregate and now we go again for a final on Tuesday, which will be a completely different game.

"I'm extremely proud to reach a final and when it all settles after tonight, we'll reflect on what we've achieved as a team."

Some of Fulham's squad have recent experience of winning a play-off final, with Mitrovic and Tom Cairney among those to have featured in the club's Wembley win over Aston Villa in 2018.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53603902

[Neil D]

Parker:'What's most important is we've won the tie on aggregate and now we go again for a final on Tuesday, which we'll be a completely different game.'

That's code for a proper game of football - not the aerial hoofball fest Cardiff deployed yesterday.