Fulham 3-0 Preston

Fulham secured promotion to the Premier League with a stylish 3-0 victory over Preston North End at Craven Cottage.

The Whites knew that three points would guarantee a top-two finish, and they did not disappoint on an electric night in SW6.

The game was as good as won by half-time, with Aleksandar Mitrović netting either side of Fabio Carvalho’s marvellous finish to put his side into a commanding lead.

Chances came after the restart to put further gloss on the night, but the job was already done as Marco Silva’s men returned to the top flight at the first time of asking.

Neeskens Kebano was the sole change to the XI that lost at Derby County, taking the place of Bobby De Cordova-Reid who was named amongst the substitutes.

The Cottage was rocking but the home fans were almost silenced on five minutes when Cameron Archer put the ball on a plate for Ched Evans. His shot lacked conviction but an awkward deflection off Tosin meant Marek Rodák was forced into a reaction save.

Our number one was called upon again soon after when Ben Whiteman’s speculative strike hit a white boot and threatened to spin under the crossbar, Rodák back-peddling and taking no chances with a tip over.

After surviving those chances, Fulham drew first blood. Brilliant determination from Joe Bryan saw him win a header when he was second favourite to do so, before he came out on top of a 50/50 with two Preston defenders. The left-back then strode forward before slipping Mitrovic in who poked his shot through Daniel Iversen for 1-0.

Some lovely footwork, first from Kebano and the Mitrović, then carved out an opening for Carvalho, but he couldn’t get enough bend on his 20 yarder to find the target.

Harrison Reed’s quest for a first Fulham goal continued following a clever corner routine, though he was unlucky to see his long range header clear the bar.

A long ball forward brought about our second goal of the night. Kebano peeled away on the assumption that Mitrovic would win the flick-on, something he duly did, and then prodded a pass in-field to Carvalho who flicked an instinctive first time finish over Iversen.

Two soon became three, and it was a thing of beauty. Mitrović played the slickest of one-twos with Harry Wilson – featuring a positive drive forward from the Welshman – controlling expertly and drilling a wicked strike under Iversen for his 40^th goal of the campaign.

Preston started the second half as they did the first, on the front foot, but again they found Rodák in top form. This time the Slovakia international made a stunning flying save to tip Archer’s placed shot onto the crossbar.

It was the woodwork at the other end that was left shaking seconds later when Mitrović picked the pocket of the last man and saw his subsequent effort deflect up off Iversen and onto the top of the frame of the goal.

Iversen was doing a good job of keeping the score down, frustrating Carvalho and Mitrović in quick succession in the 53^rd minute.

There was a bit of a lull in terms of clear chances for 20 minutes or so, until Neco Williams got everyone on their feet with a dangerous strike from distance that kissed the top of the net on its way over.

The lack of a fourth goal did little to dampen the atmosphere, as the full-time whistle brought with it jubilant scenes as Fulham locked in a Premier League place for the 2022/23 season.