Clint Dempsey’s brace helped secure a healthy 3-0 aggregate lead over FC Dnipro at the Cottage on Thursday night and Fulham’s US international is now looking to finish the job in the Ukraine next week and secure the Club a place in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.
“It was important to get off to a good start and get some goals tonight,” Dempsey explained. “We were able to do that and we’ve put ourselves in a good position ahead of next week’s return leg in the Ukraine.
“They’re [FC Dnipro] a good team and they pass the ball well. They were tough to break down and we got a bit frustrated in the first-half but in the end we’ve put ourselves in good position. The key tonight was not to concede and we’ve kept a clean sheet.
“We’ve got to be smart next week in the Ukraine and put in a professional performance and get the job done. We want to do well in this competition and hopefully we can.”
Before Fulham’s trip to Ukraine next week the Whites take on Wolves in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday and Dempsey is hoping to replicate Fulham’s away form from the back end of last season in the Midlands this weekend.
"Playing away from home is always difficult," said Dempsey. “It’ll be a tough challenge as Wolves are not an easy side to beat. We weren’t able to score against Aston Villa last weekend so hopefully we can open our account in the League on Sunday.
“We have a lot of experience in our dressing room and that helped us towards the back end of last season away from home and hopefully we can pick up where we left off with a win on Sunday.”