Fulham’s Reserves were unable to build on last week’s Barclays Premier Reserve League victory over Wolves – suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at London Colney on Monday afternoon.
Arsenal took the lead on three minutes when Oguzhan Ozyakup collected the ball some 18 yards from goal and placed his finish beyond Marcus Bettinelli.
Despite the strong start from Arsenal, Billy McKinlay’s men started to gain a foothold in the game, with Alex Kacaniklic leading the charge for the Whites.
Kacaniklic was denied a good goalscoring opportunity late in the half when a last ditch tackle from Craig Eastmond ended the danger.
Fulham made a positive start to the second-half with Tue Na Bagna going close after breaking through but it was Arsenal who fully capitalised on their chances a matter of minutes later when Sanchez Watt fired past Bettinelli.
The home side maintained the upper hand for long periods of the second-half, with Fulham testing the Gunners through opportunities for Trotta and Donegan. Unfortunately, the Whites were unable to find a way through Arsenal’s back line as the Gunners held out for the win.
Fulham: Bettinelli; Dean, Halliche, Burn, Smith; Harris, Pritchard, Donegan, Na Bangna (Banya 62), Kacaniklic’ Trotta
Unused Subs: Smith, O’Reilly, Minkwitz