With our Academy pre-season trip to Portugal now complete, get yourself up to date with everything from our four action-packed friendlies.
Porto B 3-5 Fulham U21
An inspired first-half performance saw our Under-21s side beat Porto B 5-3 in their first friendly of the week.
We went ahead 15 minutes in, when Callum McFarlane received the ball from Terrell Works before swivelling and finding the top left corner.
Ollie O'Neill, who is back with us after a successful loan spell at Derry City, made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark. Devan Tanton swung in a decent delivery from the right and the Irishman was in position at the back post to sweep the ball across goal and in.
Just four minutes later (34'), McFarlane bagged his second to further increase our advantage under the intense Portugal sun. Recent signing Chris Donnell won the first header before Tanton found our forward who produced a composed side-footed finish.
O'Neill also grabbed his second three minutes before half-time. Works stole the ball in midfield and fed it to McFarlane who in-turn found O'Neill. He made no mistake.
An impressive opening half display saw us head in at the break with a 4-0 lead.
Four became five 20 minutes into the second half. Ollie Gofford's decent effort after some tricky footwork was well saved but the ball fell to Olly Sanderson who poked home.
The hosts converted from two corners in the space of three minutes, before adding a third late on to ensure a respectable 3-5 result.
Team lineup:
Allen; Tanton, D'Auria-Henry, Williams, Nwoko; Donnell, Okkas, O'Neill; Šekularac, McFarlane, Works
Subs:
McNally, Slade, Gordon, Gofford, Sanderson, Ablade
S.C. Braga U19 2-2 Fulham U18
Ali Melloul's Under-18s were in action later in the day, picking up a 2-2 draw against S.C. Braga.
Our first real chance came on 17 minutes. Bradley De Jesus fired a ball across the area and Aaron Loupalo-Bi's powerful strike was well saved, before the Braga goalkeeper made a second stop to deny Ma'Kel Bogle-Campbell.
Up the other end, one of our new scholars Dino Kaiser came rushing off his line to make a block with his chest after some neat Braga build-up.
Both sides showed promise going forward, but it remained goalless at the interval.
The deadlock was broken on 55 minutes, with our 18s going ahead. Tom Olyott swung in a free-kick which was expertly headed home by Callum Osmand.
The Welshman was on target again 15 minutes later, coolly chipping the ball over the goalkeeper to double our advantage.
Unfortunately, the game was brought back to life soon after, when one of the Braga forwards calmly slotted the ball past substitute goalkeeper Monty Conway.
Our lead evaporated in the dying moments, when the ball was stylishly chipped over Conway after a forward was played through on goal.
A good runout for our youngsters and lots of match experience for several of our scholars.
Team lineup:
Kaiser (GK); De Jesus, Tabares, Nsasi, Park; Quashie, Picotto, King; Ali-Wahid, Bogle-Campbell, Loupalo-Bi
Subs:
Conway (GK), Cooke, Ridgeon, Olyott, Osmand
S.C. Braga B 1-1 Fulham U21
Our Under-21s' next test came in the form of S.C. Braga's B team and Olly Sanderson helped us to a 1-1 draw.
The striker capitalised on some confusion at the back early on, before calmly picking his spot to give us the advantage.
Braga's first opportunity came 12 minutes in, when a decent volley was excellently saved by Alfie McNally to keep us ahead.
We needed to soak up some pressure in the opening half but defended resolutely and took our lead into the break.
Callum McFarlane tried his luck seven minutes into the second half, bringing the ball down and swivelling before releasing a strike which sailed over.
Braga found what they were looking for with 70 minutes on the clock, when a cross from the right was acrobatically volleyed across goal and in.
Neither side was able to create any meaningful chances later in the game and it ended 1-1.
Team lineups:
McNally; Tanton, D'Auria-Henry, Williams, Slade; Gofford, Okkas, O'Neill; Ablade, Sanderson, Works
Subs:
Allen, Conway, Quashie, Donnell, Šekularac, McFarlane
Porto U19 4-2 Fulham U18
Despite a Josh King brace firing us two goals ahead, it was defeat for the young Whites in their second and final pre-season game.
King scored his first just seven minutes in after some great work from Seth Ridgeon, who dribbled past a couple of players before delivering into the area and having his cross stroked home.
Tom Olyott tried his luck a few minutes later, but his effort was well saved.
King grabbed his second of the afternoon on 11 minutes. Callum Osmand took the ball around a defender and the goalkeeper before laying it off to the youngster who did the rest.
Unfortunately for Ali Melloul's side, the hosts came back fighting and scored twice to level things. The first was a decent strike from range, before a free-kick effort found the bottom left corner 15 minutes before the break.
We should've gone back ahead after the interval, when Osmand's powerful strike from close range rifled against the post.
A header following a flick on put Porto in front for the first time, before a clever one-two and calm finish with just four minutes remaining sealed our fate. Another good test for our youngsters against a strong Porto side.
Team lineup:
Kaiser (GK); De Jesus, Tabares, Nsasi, Park; Nwoko, Ridgeon, King; Gordon, Osmand, Olyott
Subs:
Varney (GK), Cooke, Bogle-Campbell, Ali-Wahid
