Match Report
Millwall (0) 0-3 (0) Fulham
Championship Match Day 44 1718 at The Den
Friday 20th April 2018 KO: 19:45
Referee:
Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
|
Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon scored his 15th goal of the season as Fulham moved into second place in the Championship with a 3-0 victory at playoff-chasing Millwall.
The 17-year-old, recently voted Championship player of the season, reacted first to a Jordan Archer fumble to consign Millwall to their first league defeat since New Year's Day.
Kevin McDonald doubled the visitors' lead with a sensational long-range strike before Aleksandar Mitrovic's effort late on moved Fulham two points clear of Cardiff, who have two games in hand.
The defeat keeps Millwall in sixth place, a point clear of Derby, who face play-off rivals Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Millwall looked to assert themselves early on and almost had their reward after three minutes but Jake Cooper's free header at the back post cannoned off the crossbar.
The Lions thought they had the opening goal after 15 minutes when Jed Wallace headed down for George Saville to rifle home from close range but referee Andre Marriner adjudged Wallace had fouled defender Matt Targett.
It took 23 minutes for Fulham to finally come into the game and it was Sessegnon who was causing all the problems.
The teenager did well down the left before driving in a low cross which just evaded Mitrovic.
Neil Harris' team were looking to cement their place in the top six and should have been in front in the 29th minute when Marcus Bettinelli pushed Ben Marshall's cross straight into the path of Wallace but the midfielder's effort was cleared off the line by Tim Ream.
Targett has scored once since arriving at Fulham on loan from Southampton in January and almost doubled his tally as his long-range effort clipped the bar.
| Match Stats |
Millwall |
Fulham |
| Goals |
(0) 0 |
3 (0) |
|
| Scorers |
|
R Sessegnon 46 |
|
|
McDonald 56 |
|
|
Mitrovic 89 |
| , |
| Goal attempts |
7 |
17 |
| On target |
4 |
5 |
| Shooting Accuracy |
57% |
29% |
| Possession |
33% |
67% |
| Passes |
261 |
561 |
| Passes Success |
63% |
84% |
| Crosses |
19 |
8 |
| Crosses Success |
16% |
25% |
| Corners |
2 |
1 |
| Tackles |
11 |
9 |
| Tackles Success |
64% |
89% |
| Saves |
2 |
3 |
| Fouls |
17 |
8 |
| Offsides |
4 |
0 |
| Yellows |
4 |
1 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: SkySports |
Fulham needed a spark and they got it 45 seconds into the second half as Archer fumbled a long-range effort from Mitrovic into the path of Sessegnon who had the pace and the composure to thunder the ball underneath the goalkeeper.
Stefan Johansen almost doubled the lead two minutes later but the Norway international scuffed his effort wide after going through one-on-one with Archer.
Slavisa Jokanovic's side did not have to wait long for a second as midfielder McDonald created time and space to thunder a right-footed shot beyond Archer and into the top corner.
Mitrovic netted a third a minute from time as a driving run from substitute Tomas Kalas found the striker on the edge of the box and the Serbian smashed the ball home.
Millwall : Archer, Romeo (O'Brien 87), Hutchinson, Cooper, Meredith (Cahill 77), Wallace, Williams, Saville, Marshall (Elliott 65), Gregory, Morison
Unused substitutes: Martin, Shackell, Onyedinma, Tunnicliffe
Booked: Hutchinson (62,f), Wallace (82,f), Cahill (88,f), Gregory (90+1,f)
Fulham: Bettinelli, Fredericks (Christie 90), Odoi, Ream, Targett, Cairney, McDonald, Johansen, Piazon (Kalas 83), Mitrovic, R Sessegnon
Unused substitutes: Button, Kebano, Norwood, Fonte, Kamara
Goals:
Sessegnon 46 (left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the centre of the goal.)
McDonald 56 (right footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Matt Targett.)
Mitrovic 89 (right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Tomas Kalas.)
Booked: Ream (71,f),
Referee:
Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Attendance: 17,614