Harry Wilson once again helped Fulham to come from behind to beat Brentford at Craven Cottage with the hosts’ 3-1 victory setting up a second win in a week.
Wilson’s injury-time double had secured victory in the same fixture last season but he was only needed once this time around, firing home Alex Iwobi’s fine slide-rule pass to give the Cottagers a 2-1 lead.
For the third season in a row Brentford had struck first at Fulham, with a significant helping hand from 18-year-old Josh King whose blind pass gifted the ball to Mikkel Damsgaard – though he still had to beat Bernd Leno with a smart finish.
Brentford’s defending for Fulham’s equaliser ran that mistake close as Nathan Collins made a mess of clearing a deflected shot, before Iwobi stepped in to hammer home the loose ball, 98 seconds before Wilson’s strike turned the game on its head.
Neither defensive coach would have felt particularly content come full-time but there was worse still to come, as Keith Andrews’ half-time team talk went up in smoke five minutes after the restart when Ethan Pinnock headed past Caoimhin Kelleher for Fulham’s third.
“When your luck is out, it is out,” said Sky Sports’ Rob Green. “He doesn’t have time to duck, he doesn’t have time to get out of the way.”
Brentford continued to play their part but endured a toothless evening against their rivals, while the Cottagers thought they were out of sight on the hour as Rodrigo Muniz powered home a fourth, though he was denied by VAR after leaving Collins with a bloody nose in the build-up.
It mattered little as Fulham comfortably held on to double their win tally in seven days, with Brentford’s search for a first point on the road ongoing.
Iwobi: We worked to counter Brentford’s long-throw danger
Fulham’s Alex Iwobi to Sky Sports:
“We knew that Brentford are very good at long throws, so we worked on a lot of long throws in training this week. We were basically working on the second balls and reacting to them, so we were able to withstand that, which was the main threat today.
“You don’t know where it’s going to land, so we were literally working all week on second balls, but credit to our defenders, they were able to head away the first balls and clear it from the penalty box.”
Analysis: Fulham hit their stride as Bees toil on road again
Sky Sports’ Ron Walker at Craven Cottage:
“After such a dour performance against Leeds last weekend, it was curious that Marco Silva chose not to use any of the substitutes – let’s be honest, Kevin, who spurred them to victory late on in that game – to start against Brentford.
“Maybe that’s why he’s the Premier League head coach, because after a week of seeing his side on the training ground he was absolutely right to keep faith that they would find their energy and creativity again.
“He said this week their ambitions would not be dimmed by a difficult transfer window, with only Aston Villa spending less, but resources do make a difference.
“This was a timely reminder of the talent that remains at Craven Cottage, and that’s without their tricky new Brazilian, or fellow new arrival Samuel Chukwueze who was an unused substitute.
“Special credit to Josh King, who was unusually quiet in his last game and gave away Brentford’s opener in this one, but went on to drive the hosts forward before he was withdrawn.
“But for the Bees, for the second season in a row their home and away form is night and day. ‘Obviously, we need to address that,’ admitted Keith Andrews – though he insisted: ‘I didn’t feel any of it coming into the game, the players came in with a really good mindset.'”