After two grueling legs of semifinal action, Fulham earned a place in the Championship playoff final against Brentford F.C. with a spot in next season’s Premier League at stake.
Taking place in an empty Wembley Stadium, the match proved to be incredibly tight from the first whistle. Neither side managed to grab the upper hand in what was a subdued first-half performance. After the half-time break, while both sides managed to step up their shot count, neither could find a breakthrough as the game remained goalless after 90 minutes.
With the match looking destined to be decided on penalties, Fulham’s Joe Bryan caught the Brentford defense entirely off-guard with hiss breathtaking 40-yard free-kick, thereby putting his team in the lead.
While Brentford did their best to pressurize the Fulham defense in search of a reply, Joe Bryan struck gold yet again as he doubled Fulham’s lead in the 117th minute. Brentford eventually found the back of the net four minutes into stoppage time, however this effort proved too little too late as the final whistle blew just moments later.
In addition to the joy of lifting the Championship playoff trophy and earning promotion back into England’s top flight, the Cottagers also raked in a cool $312 million in prize money.
