Match Report Birmingham (2) 3-1 (0) Fulham Championship Match Day 46 1718 at St Andrews Sunday 6th May 2018    KO: 12:30 Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney

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Fulham blew their chance of automatic promotion to the Premier League after suffering a 3-1 defeat at survivors Birmingham.

Victory would have sent the Cottagers back to the top flight after Cardiff could only draw 0-0 with Reading.

But goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz, Harlee Dean and Che Adams ensured the hosts beat relegation on the final day and denied the visitors second place.

Tom Cairney briefly made it 2-1 but Fulham must rely on the play-offs - where they will face Derby - to return to the Premier League after a four-year absence.

Birmingham sealed their place in the Sky Bet Championship after a season-long battle against the drop, finally finishing five points above the bottom three.

It was a deserved win but Fulham threatened early when Aleksandar Mitrovic failed to convert Matt Targett's cross.

Match Stats	Birmingham	Fulham
Goals	(2) 3	1 (0)
Scorers	Kutkiewicz 15	Cairney 84
	Dean 43
	Adams 89
,
Goal attempts	11	13
On target	7	5
Shooting Accuracy	64%	38%
Possession	28%	72%
Passes	218	601
Passes Success	62%	85%
Crosses	18	13
Crosses Success	28%	38%
Corners	3	4
Tackles	20	13
Tackles Success	75%	85%
Saves	4	4
Fouls	14	8
Offsides	1	2
Yellows	2	3
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

But Blues regained their composure and took the lead after 15 minutes when Jutkiewicz converted Wes Harding's low cross for his sixth goal of the season.

St Andrew's erupted and the hosts rarely looked like losing the lead.

Cairney drilled wide after 25 minutes but, with their automatic promotion chances on the line, Fulham failed to find a first-half response.

David Stockdale saved from Stefan Johansen in a rare opening for the visitors before they fell further behind on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors were guilty of slack marking as Dean stole in round the back to head in Jota's cross and spark pandemonium.

But Stockdale needed to make a smart save to maintain Birmigham's half-time lead when Cairney was left unmarked in the area.

Requiring a remarkable comeback, Fulham were dragged into a second-half scrap by the hosts.

Aboubakar Kamara, Denis Odoi and Kevin McDonald were booked as the Cottagers lost their way.

Sam Gallagher and Jacques Maghoma tested Marcus Bettinelli during a second half which only sparked at the death.

Cairney pulled a goal back with five minutes left when he headed in after being gifted too much time six yards out.

A minute later Stockdale turned over Mitrovic's header but Adams' 89th-minute strike, when he was left free on the left, sealed victory for Birmingham.

Birmingham : Stockdale, Harding, Morrison, Dean, Colin, Jota, Kieftenbeld, Davis, Maghoma (Robinson 90), Gallagher (Gardner 71), Jutkiewicz (Adams 61)

Unused substitutes: Kuszczak, Roberts, Dacres-Cogley, Ndoye

Goals:
Jutkiewicz 15 (right footed shot from very close range to the top right corner. Assisted by Wes Harding with a cross.)
Dean 43 (header from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jota with a cross following a corner.)
Adams 89 (right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jota.)

Booked: Davis (64,f), Colin (82,f),

Fulham: Bettinelli, Fredericks (Christie 72), Odoi, Ream, Targett (Kamara 45), Johansen, McDonald, Cairney, Piazon (Ayité 64), Mitrovic, R Sessegnon

Unused substitutes: Button, Kalas, Norwood, Fonte

Goals:
Cairney 84 (header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Floyd Ayité.)

Booked: Kamara (47,f), Odoi (49,f), McDonald (70,f)

Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)

Attendance: 27,608