MX23RW : Wednesday, December 11 21:33:05| >> :600:211333:211333:
[monks data]
Attendance: 23,796
Bristol City
Championship | Gameweek 37
Mar 7, 2020 at 12.30pm UK
 
Fulham logo

1-1

Wells (70')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Cairney (84')

Tom Cairney rescues late draw for Fulham at Bristol City

Tom Cairney rescues late draw for Fulham at Bristol City
© Reuters
The Cottagers missed the chance to cut the gap on Leeds to two points.

Fulham failed to fully ramp up the pressure on second-placed Leeds after Tom Cairney's late goal could only secure a 1-1 draw with fellow Championship promotion-contenders Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

City took a 70th-minute lead when Nahki Wells was on hand to nod home from close range after Pedro Pereira had headed across the face of goal into his path following a corner.

But Fulham more than played their part in an entertaining contest and levelled six minutes from time as Cairney made room just outside the box to net with a sweet left-footed drive.

The match was billed as City's 125th anniversary match and Lee Johnson's men battled for every ball to earn a share of the spoils, keeping them in play-off contention.

Fulham had the better of a high-tempo first half, but were often guilty of trying one pass too many at the end of numerous threatening moves.

Cairney shot wide with the first effort of the game after six minutes, but City responded well, with Wells having a header and a shot saved by Marek Rodak.

The hosts suffered a setback in the 23rd minute when centre-back Nathan Baker was forced off by an injury, with Filip Benkovic going on as his replacement.

Two decent Fulham chances fell the way of former City player Bobby Decordova-Reid, who sent a glancing header wide and then saw a 45th-minute shot well-saved by goalkeeper Niki Maenpaa.

Harry Arter fired narrowly wide as Fulham ended the half with a period of concerted pressure that had City defenders throwing bodies in the way of shots to protect their clean sheet.

Rodak had to make his first save of note at the start of the second half, changing direction to smother a deflected drive from Wells.

Decordova-Reid was presented with another great opportunity as a slick Fulham move ended with Maenpaa spreading himself to save a low shot.

It was end-to-end stuff. Benkovic headed wide for City from Callum O'Dowda's cross following a short corner.

Aleksandar Mitrovic had a shot deflected wide as Fulham continued to look menacing, but the home side also looked effective on the counter and a lung-bursting run by Andreas Weimann was halted at the expense of a corner.

Wells' goal was still somewhat against the run of play. It provoked a strong Fulham response and Mitrovic was inches wide from a free-kick after being fouled by Benkovic.

Maenpaa came to City's rescue again, reacting brilliantly to palm away Denis Odoi's glancing near-post header.

Yet there was nothing the goalkeeper could do to stop Cairney's perfectly-placed equaliser.

It was not Decordova-Reid's day. Another close-range chance fell his way late on, but his shot was deflected up into the arms of Maenpaa.

Fulham appealed for a late penalty when Maenpaa went down to gather a loose ball and appeared to catch Cairney, but play was waved on.

ID:392160: cacheID:392160:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5418:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa pops a squat on February 15, 2020
Read Next:
Championship week 37 predictions including Leeds vs. Huddersfield
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds20125336142241
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd19125227111639
3Burnley2010822471738
4Sunderland20107329151437
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn1910452317634
6Middlesbrough209473425931
7Watford189362624230
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom1961122114729
9Swansea CitySwansea207672119227
10Norwich CityNorwich206863530526
11Bristol City206862525026
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds207582329-626
13Millwall186752016425
14Luton TownLuton2064102335-1222
15Coventry CityCoventry195682527-221
16Derby CountyDerby205692226-421
17Stoke CityStoke205692126-521
18Preston North EndPreston1931061826-819
19Oxford UnitedOxford Utd184682028-818
20Queens Park RangersQPR193971826-818
21Portsmouth183872130-917
22Cardiff CityCardiff184591728-1117
23Plymouth ArgylePlymouth1945101940-2117
24Hull City1936101727-1015


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!