August 5 – Fulham won the richest game in world football after the extra-time brilliance of left-back Joe Byran ensured a 2-1 win against London rivals Brentford and promotion to the Premier League.
The Championship playoff final is the most lucrative fixture on the planet, providing the last ticket to a share in the Premier League’s pot of gold. Before the match, Deloitte estimated that Brentford stood to gain £160 million in additional TV revenue over three years if they won, while a win for Fulham is worth a minimum £135 million.
Predictably, like most play-off matches, the West-London encounter was tight, tense and shorn of any imagination, but it was an inventive and bright freekick from left-back Joe Bryan in extra-time that surprised Brentford’s goalkeeper David Raya, broke the deadlock and set Fulham on their return to the English topflight after a one-season hiatus. Bryan drove the ball to the near-post to wrong foot Raya.
The left-back became Fulham’s unlikely hero when he doubled his team’s lead in the 117th minute after a neat passing move and a composed right-footed finish. The goal killed Brentford’s dream of returning to the English elite echelon for the first time in 73 years, despite Henrik Dalsgaard nodded a header home in the last seconds of the match for the Bees.
Brentford couldn’t exorcise the ghosts of previous play-off finals and were left crestfallen on the Wembley pitch at the end of an inspiring season.
The Bees, playing in blue in a nod to their first game at Griffin Park in 1904, promised “to be cool” and “brave” in the words of their coach Thomas Frank, but failed to apply their rhythm and natural front-foot game in the first 70 minutes, leaving Fulham, with talisman and striker Aleksandar Mitrovic on the bench, to dominate possession.
Fulham were the more threatening team and in the 17th minute Brentford’s Raya kept out Josh Onomah’s low diagonal attempt with a strong hand. Scott Parker’s team shackled Brentford in a tactical game with space on the pitch in short supply as the fear of conceding prevailed. As the first half went on, the match became cagier and Harrison Reed’s scything tackle at speed on Christian Norgaard could well have earned him a sending off.
After the break, Brentford showed some signs of urgency, but never found any of their trademark fluency and sharpness. Instead, a compact and disciplined Fulham got the chances with Neeskens wrapping his foot around the ball to side net his freekick. Close to the hour mark, the ball dropped to Decordova-Reid inside the box, but he skied the best opportunity of the game.
After 70 minutes, Brentford’s Ollie Watkins had a sight of goal with a powerful shot, but in the end nothing could separate the West-London rivals at full-time in a match pocked by small moments and half chances. That’s until Bryan’s double fired his club to the Premier League and the riches that come with playing in the English topflight.
In September, Fulham will be looking to avoid a repeat scenario of the 2018/19 campaign when they dropped out of the Premier League after just one season. They heavily invested at the start of that season, but Parker has indicated they won’t go for a complete makeover this time.
“You can’t build teams with drastic changes, drastic swings of players coming in,” said Parker. “This team has been around myself now for the best part of 15 months and they have improved and improved and improved. I’m happy with where we are. We are going to need additions – we are going into the biggest league there is – but no drastic changes.”
Meanwhile, Brentford will be left to rue another missed opportunity, inaugurating their new Community Stadium next season without Premier League football. The Bees had a game against Stoke City to win automatic promoted and lost. That was followed by a new opportunity for promotion against Barnsley, which they lost again. After 368 days of being in touching distance of their dream, the Bees will stay in the Championship.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1735189335labto1735189335ofdlr1735189335owedi1735189335sni@o1735189335fni1735189335