Huddersfield Town vs Fulham. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's StadiumAttendance15,126.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Huddersfield and Fulham at the John Smith's Stadium as two goals from Ivan Cavaleiro and one each from Aleksandar Mitrovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Fabio Carvalho secure thumping win for Marco Silva's men
Saturday 14 August 2021 19:59, UK
Fulham thumped Huddersfield 5-1 to pick up their first win of the season despite seeing Harry Wilson sent off midway through the second half.
The Terriers started brightly but were made to pay for some woeful first-half defending as Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring in the ninth minute after errors from Ryan Schofield and Sorba Thomas.
Josh Onomah and Fabio Carvalho then scored two more in the latter stages of the first half after further defensive blunders by the hosts.
Matty Pearson had given Huddersfield brief hope after heading home from a 41st-minute corner, between Fulham's second and third goals.
Substitute Ivan Cavaleiro chipped Schofield to make it 4-1 with 12 minutes to go, before another cool finish deep into stoppage time rounded off the scoring.
The visitors had played the last 18 minutes a man down after Wilson was sent off for kicking out at Levi Colwill following a late tackle.
Schofield tipped away Onomah's long-range effort in the second minute during a frantic opening, before Paulo Gazzaniga kept out a Duane Holmes shot after a flowing move by Huddersfield.
Pearson had a goal ruled out after he smashed a loose ball home from the resulting corner, but Fulham hit the front four minutes later through Mitrovic.
Schofield was unable to control a misjudged back pass by Thomas and could only watch on as his clearance rebounded off Mitrovic and into the goal.
Mitrovic had a header ruled out for offside after 31 minutes, before Wilson scuffed a shot wide with the goal begging soon after.
The pressure paid off when Onomah bundled home from close range after Huddersfield failed to react to Bobby Decordova-Reid's 37th-minute corner.
Pearson pulled a goal back after he rose brilliantly to head home a Thomas corner on 41 minutes, but it was to no avail after Fulham restored their two-goal cushion through Carvalho before the break as Town again failed to clear their lines.
Schofield palmed away a curling Wilson effort in stoppage time, before Josh Koroma fired straight at the goalkeeper from 20 yards just before the hour mark.
The Huddersfield keeper then failed to hold a Carvalho shot, before Wilson hit the crossbar from the rebound and followed up with an effort that was struck straight at Schofield as Fulham pegged Huddersfield in their own half.
But Wilson was given a straight red card in the 72nd minute for lashing out at Colwill following a late tackle on the touchline.
It did not prevent Fulham from extending their lead further, however, with Cavaleiro chipping over Schofield after a perfect pass by Decordova-Reid in the 78th minute and then adding another five minutes into stoppage time after good hold-up play by Mitrovic.
Huddersfield's Carlos Corberan: "We didn't compete in too many moments, and when you are not competitive you can suffer this type of defeat. The team looked nervous and didn't show the confidence we have seen. It is really disappointing. We were competitive from the start but we did not keep the level that we needed. We lost our concentration against a very good opponent. Many things went wrong today.
"The team was not solid enough after their goal and we started to break down. We did not win some of the challenges that we needed. It is clear that we scored one goal and we were in the game with a chance to do something. As soon as we scored we did not react at the back and got in the wrong position for their counter-attack. We understand the frustration of the fans. We need to analyse the problems of today and be self-critical to find an answer."
Fulham's Marco Silva: "We were the better team and deserved the three points. We didn't get what we deserved last week, but we did this week. We were the best team on the pitch. We had the chances today and got five goals. The first goal was a lucky one but we had clear chances after that to score more and more. It was a fair result at the end and the players performed well.
"I didn't see the red card but we have to keep our emotional balance, especially for the stronger creative players we have. They are suffering tackles every time and should be more protected, you have to protect these type of players. In the meantime you still have to keep your emotional balance. The performance was good and it is always pleasing to win so emphatically."
