Kebano squeaks Fulham past Cardiff for West London final

Neeskens Kabano’s superbly worked first-half equaliser was enough to book Fulham’s place in an all-London play-off final on Tuesday, after a nervy fightback from Cardiff City at Craven Cottage.

Cardiff looked well on course to continue the recent trend of knockout turnarounds, getting off to a perfect start with just seven minutes played, as Curtis Nelson nodded in Joe Ralls corner to cut the 2-0 first leg deficit down to one.

But Fulham decided to match Cardiff’s perfect start with a perfect response, knitting together a superb passing move from the kick-off, with Kebano glancing in Bobby Reid’s exquisit pass 24 seconds later to level the game.

Fulham managed to hold on until half-time, but Cardiff were off to a quick start again, capitalising on the Cottagers’ poor work from set pieces, with substitute and top scorer, Lee Tomlin, managing to shove the ball in for a 2-1 lead with a minute played of the second 45.

Cardiff continued their rapid start to the half but were unable to find the net, and despite letting Fulham back in the game for the remaining half an hour, neither side were able to find what they needed to quash their nerves.

And despite losing 2-1 on the night, a 3-2 win overall sends Fulham to Wembley next Tuesday night, where they will face West London rivals Brentford, for what promises to be a fiercely contested final place in the Premier League. 

📈 Highest clean sheet %s (Championship inc. P/Os; 2019/20):

4⃣4⃣%: RODÀK*
4⃣2⃣%: Casilla
3⃣8⃣%: Marshall
3⃣6⃣%: Bialkowski
3⃣5⃣%: Smithies
3⃣4⃣%: Raya

* 15 clean sheets in 34 games. #FFC @FulhamFC pic.twitter.com/BzLTuTGku0

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) July 29, 2020