It was a day to forget for Fulham Under-23s, who fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Reading.
The visitors went into the break with the lead, before two quick-fire goals put the game out of reach.
The first shot on target came from the away side after a mistake at the back. Marlon Fossey, who made his long-awaited return for the side, misplaced a pass which fell to Reading’s Sam Smith.
His low effort was powerful but easily dealt with by Luca Ashby-Hammond.
The hosts were awarded a penalty just seven minutes in, with Ben Davis being brought down after powering into the penalty box from the right. Unfortunately, Jean-Pierre Tiehi’s low effort fired wide.
Few chances were created for either side for a lengthy period, but Reading eventually took the lead and in bizarre fashion. Ethan Bristow’s corner bounced through a crowd at the near post before somehow making its way over the line.
They came close to doubling the lead a few minutes later. A neat pass found Andy Yiadom who chipped the ball over Ashby-Hammond. Luckily, Lesley Duru was on hand to clear the ball, which was trickling towards an open goal.
The visitors started on the front foot after the break and forced Ashby-Hammond into an early save, getting down low to parry an effort away from goal.
The young Royals doubled their lead on 49 minutes, with Jayden Onen converting from close range to leave Colin Omogbehin and Mark Pembridge’s side with a mountain to climb.
Things went from bad to worse just a few minutes later, when Ryan East smashed the ball down the middle from a penalty. The referee pointed to the spot after Luca Murphy brought down Onen. Murphy argued that the contact was outside of the box, but the decision remained.
After a quiet spell, Tiehi came close in the 78th minute but was denied with some excellent goalkeeping by Coniah Boyce-Clarke, who came rushing out to intercept with a sliding tackle.
Fulham pushed and pushed but couldn’t create any real chances in the final third and the full-time whistle was eventually blown.
Team Lineup:
Ashby-Hammond, Duru, Fossey, McAvoy, Murphy; Davis, Harris, Hilton, De Havilland, O’Neill; Tiehi
Subs:
Trialist, Aina, Pajaziti, Abraham