Fantastic Fulham fightback as Wilson wins it in stoppage time

Fulham (0) 2 v Brentford (1) 1

Janelt 24

Wilson 92

Wilson 97

By Kaz Mochlinski at Craven Cottage

Premier League

Matchweek 10

In the most incredible ending to a dramatic derby duel, Harry Wilson conjured up two glorious goals in stoppage time at Craven Cottage to give Fulham an unimaginably unlikely win over Brentford.

Wilson struck twice, in the 92nd and 97th minutes, to totally turn around a contest which Fulham looked to be losing to Vitaly Janelt’s spectacular long-range drive midway through the first half.

The Welsh international had been on the pitch for just 10 minutes as the final Fulham replacement when he scored - from an assist provided by another of Marco Silva’s second-half substitutes, Adama Traoré.

Both goals came from crosses, the first played in from the right wing and the second put over from the left, the latter by Antonee Robinson. But Wilson’s two finishing touches were a complete contrast to one another.

The equaliser was a beautiful backheel flick in mid-air, with Wilson beating the covering defender, Ben Mee, at the near-post to loop the ball over Mark Flekken and across the goal into the far side of the net.

As Brentford boss Thomas Frank ruefully reflected later, “he only scores from that position once in 100 times”, but the Fulham super-sub’s subsequent winning goal owed even more to good fortune, rather than just being down to his determination.

“Both of them went in. But I’m not sure they went in how I planned” Wilson admitted afterwards. “I think for the first one the ball went out wide to Adama. I could see he was going to go on the outside, and I thought he would put it in first time.

“So I just tried to get across the front, and I was just trying to help it on really, because, if it didn’t go in, hopefully someone else could get in at the back post. When I turned around and seen it fly in, it was an amazing feeling.

“I think the second goal was a bit more lucky. I think it was meant to go the other side of the goal off my head, and, in the end, ended up coming off my shoulder. But they all count.

“When that went in, running away to celebrate with the fans was amazing. Because I know what this game means to them. When you play these local derbies it means that bit more to everyone who comes.

“To let them go home happy and give them a moment like that at the end is an amazing feeling. To come on and to get the two goals to win us the game is an amazing feeling.

“Throughout the course of the game I think it’s what we deserved. I thought we were the better team, and kept them penned in for a lot of that second half, so to get the two goals right at the end was great.”

The understandably unrestrained delight of the celebrations led to Fulham’s only two yellow cards of the evening being shown to Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz. Uniquely for a league match in November, a lap of honour followed the final whistle.

In complete contrast, Brentford’s players appeared unsurprisingly immensely upset at the outcome, with several sinking to the turf, while others covered their faces and their heads with their shirts.

Wilson’s goal timings were put at 91:29 and 96:46, with six minutes of added time having been initially signalled but serendipitously more being eventually played due to the home side’s extended celebrations of their first goal.

In a further twist of fate, both teams had experienced very different changes to the results of their previous Premier League games also occurring in stoppage time only one week earlier.

It was Brentford cheering wildly then after they scored in the 96th minute to overcome Ipswich Town 4-3, with Fulham cursing having conceded in the 94th minute to draw 1-1 at Everton instead of winning.

In the latest instalment of the West London riverside derby, there was little doubt that Fulham’s unrelenting efforts should have earned them a reward as they refused to give up and continued attacking despite repeated setbacks.

According to Fulham head coach Marco Silva’s assessment, “After they scored, we didn’t lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.

“I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way. It was late, it should have been much before, but that’s football.”

Fulham’s domination of possession was 67.6% against the Bees’ 32.4%. And there was an even more obvious disparity in the figures for shots attempted, with the hosts’ 26 dwarfing their opponents’ five.

It took barely 90 seconds for the first shot on target - from Raúl Jiménez. And the action remained almost unceasing thereafter as both sides sought to move the ball at pace and create chances in an eminently exciting spectacle.

The crowd responded to produce a fitting atmosphere for a meeting of big local rivals under the lights, belying the pre-match concerns over unsold seats and the need for Fulham to advertise the availability of tickets around Tube stations.

Home fans are legitimately upset about excessive increases in the prices of tickets at Craven Cottage, and uncertainty also persists regarding the full opening of the huge new Riverside Stand after further delays.

But they have a team that is unequivocally worth watching, led by the exciting ex-Arsenal youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, the latter of whom was making his first Premier League start for Fulham.

Both clubs sold their best player this summer, but Sander Berge anchored the Cottagers’ midfield assuredly enough to suggest João Palhinha might be as little missed at Fulham as Ivan Toney appears to be by Brentford.

Bryan Mbeumo had scored eight goals in the first nine league games, and Yoane Wissa added nine goals in his previous 10 Premier League starts. For Fulham, Raúl Jiménez came into this match with 10 goals in his past 13 league starts.

Silva’s squad this season has allowed for more adventure, with a 4-1-4-1 formation rather than the standard 4-2-3-1. Frank’s solid 3-5-2 worked well, but the visitors were undone by dropping back late on to defend in a 5-3-2 system.

Brentford finished with four centre-backs playing together, as they tried to keep a first clean sheet since a 0-0 home draw in May - ironically against Fulham. They came agonisingly close, but ultimately it was the 12th consecutive league game in which they conceded.

“Fulham put us under pressure, did well, but we defended well” insisted Frank. “We didn’t give a lot away. I can’t actually remember a big chance for Fulham. A lot of shots, a lot of crosses, a lot of situations, but we dealt with everything. And they needed a bit of magic from Wilson.”

Nevertheless, the Bees have now let in 14 goals in their last six league matches. And they have dropped 14 points from winning positions in five games, more than any other team in the Premier League this season.

Indeed, Brentford are the first side in Premier League history to score the first goal in four consecutive away matches and lose all four. So far this season, they have been beaten in every one of their five league away games.

Fulham had the added relief of ending a series of three matches without a win in the Premier League. Plus they moved up to ninth in the table, only three points behind Chelsea in the Champions League qualifying places.

Ahead of this round of games, Brentford and Fulham had occupied the middle two positions in the league, with the Cottagers trailing their Monday night opposition by one place and one point, with an identical goal difference.

In a match with the reward of being in the top half of the table after completing the first quarter of the Premier League campaign, the side from SW6 defeated their rivals from TW8 for slightly more than just a temporary superiority in local status.

Fulham are getting good at London derbies, stretching their sequence without losing against other capital city clubs to six. This time it was not totally a one-man show, but the hero in beating Brentford was very much Wilson.

It was fitting that his first goals this season came in such sensational fashion. Wilson had been Silva’s first signing when he came to the club. No wonder Fulham’s coach allowed himself some extra satisfaction. At the manner of the win - and also at the player who delivered it.

Fulham: (4-1-4-1) Leno - Tete (Castagne 73), Andersen, Bassey, Robinson - Berge - Iwobi, Smith Rowe (Cairney 82), Pereira (Traoré 66), Nelson (Wilson 82) - Raúl Jiménez (Rodrigo Muniz 73)

Brentford: (3-5-2) Flekken - Collins, Pinnock, van den Berg - Roerslev, Damsgaard (Jensen 72), Nørgaard, Janelt (Yarmoliuk 93), Lewis-Potter (Carvalho 72) - Mbeumo (Mee 86), Wissa (Schade 72)

Attendance: 24,931