Oh how Ivan Toney grinned as he mimicked Aleksandar Mitrovic’s celebration in making this one 2-2 in front of the Putney End. It was Cheshire Cat like.
Only there was still 20 minutes to go and as much as Brentford were on top in the second half, every missed chance and raised offside flag left the door open.
And there was Mitrovic to slam it shut, with the clock at 90, heading in the winner to send Fulham to their first top-flight London derby victory since 2014.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a dramatic winner to secure the win for the Cottagers
Make it 99 goals and counting in the black and white of Fulham for the Serbian striker. Few will have felt as sweet as this one against their most bitter of rivals.
His influence looked to be waning on the game. Having seen a first half goal chalked off for offside Mitrovic was being kept relatively in check by a constantly improving Brentford.
But just as Trent Alexander-Arnold discovered on the opening day here, there is little that can stop Mitrovic in full flight. Add Vitalty Janelt to his victims in the air.
‘If you deliver for Mitro [Aleksandar Mitrovic] he is really strong in those types of situation,’ Marco Silva said.
Bobby Decordova-Reid opened the scoring for Marco Silva’s team in the opening minute
The Jamaica international capitalised on a goal-mouth scramble to put his side in the lead
New signing Joao Palhinha scored a header to double his team’s lead on 20 minutes
By the time Toney fronted up to the TV cameras afterwards there was not even a flicker of that smile he wore earlier on.
‘That one hurt,’ he said. ‘The first 30 minutes we were way off it. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb and we did but then gave the goal away at the end.’
Chatter down Stevenage Road before this one was of the must-not-lose nature of this derby.
Brentford fans boasted the fact that they had lost just one of their last 19 visits to Craven Cottage, that one a 1-0 turnover in 1990.
Fulham fans referred back to their Championship play-off final win over the Bees in 2020. It promised a classic.
Silva shuffled his pack slightly with Bernd Leno in goal for his Fulham debut and 19-year-old Jay Stansfield playing off the right for his first Premier League start.
For Thomas Frank and Brentford it was just one change from the side that bulldozed Manchester United.
Yann Wissa in for Mads Roerslov. And yet this couldn’t have started in a more contrasting fashion to that virtuoso against United.
This was disorganised and chaotic. This was a start that was everything many had come not to expect of the Bees. It took 45 seconds for Brentford to be punished.
Bobby Decordova-Reid reacted quickest to bundle home after it had come back off the bar. The Putney End, well, the part not clad in red and white, exploded.
Andreas Pereira was the creator feeding Mitrovic, who saw his cross break to Stansfield.
His deflected shot off Ben Mee hit the bar and Decordova-Reid was alive to it. Goal. Fulham ahead.
They continued to come, did Fulham, smelling blood.
Mitrovic thought he’d scored his 99th goal for Fulham – that would come later – but he was flagged offside in the 15th minute. It was a warning not heeded.
Five minutes later it was two with summer signing Joao Palhinha giving Aaron Hickey the slip from a corner to get a free header for Pereira’s cross. Brentford were drowning.
Goalkeeper David Raya was summoned to the touchline by a member of the coaching staff and there stood Frank, hands on hips, no doubt processing what had gone so badly wrong.
They rallied from there, they had to, and the lifeline they needed came on the stroke of half-time when Christian Norgaard volleyed in from Mathias Jensen’s corner.
The Dane turned to the away fans in the Putney End, threw both of his arms up. It was a call as much as a celebration. Raise the noise – this isn’t over yet.
Christian Norgaard hit back before half-time to bring Brentford back into the game
Ivan Toney latched on to a low ball to equalise for Thomas Frank’s team after 70 minutes
And it wasn’t – thanks to both Toney and the heroics of Raya.
First, Toney saw VAR rule his big toe offside. No goal. Second, it was more like his foot. Again, no goal.
But when he scored in front of Brentford’s travelling fans for a third time to level this one up there was no way his celebrations would be cut short.
But in this battle of centre forwards you didn’t think Mitrovic was willing to let old adversary Toney have the final say? No chance.
In what was his final contribution to this game he rose far higher than a helpless Janelt, on off the bench, to head past Raya.
‘We needed to take a risk,’ Frank said, ‘and we took a risk, so no regrets.’
An eight-year London derby drought was now over for Fulham and what a way to do it.
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