Marvellous Mitro’s goal-den touch is setting the standard
STRIKER Aleksandar Mitrovic fired his way into the record books as Fulham took another big step towards a Premier League return.
The Serbian won it with his 31st goal of the season to draw level with Brentford’s Ivan Toney for most goals in a Championship campaign – with 16 games still left to write his name in history.
It maintained Fulham’s six-point lead at the top and they look nailed-on to make an immediate return to the top flight after a seventh league game without defeat.
They were pushed all the way by the Tigers but remain unbeaten on the road in the Championship since early October, and boss Marco Silva said: “Mitro won it with another great finish.
“He’s a key player for us and he’s led the line fantastically this season but it’s not just about his goals, his work-rate has been phenomenal.
“We showed good fight and I thought we were the best team on the pitch so I’m really pleased for the players. The conditions were bad and got worse but we handled that well.
“Give credit to Hull, they played their part.”
It looked like being a frustrating afternoon when Harry Wilson wasted two good first-half chances to break the deadlock on a tricky surface which developed large areas of standing water due to monsoon conditions.
Mitrovic played the midfielder through on goal only for his angled drive to be well saved by Matt Ingram low to his right.
As the interval approached, Fabio Carvalho’s low centre across the box found
Wilson unmarked at the far post but his shot ballooned over the bar.
Hull improved after a nervy start and George Honeyman should have done better when he pulled a shot wide from
18 yards. Marcus Forss was then presented with a decent chance when he latched on to Tim Ream’s blocked clearance but the on-loan Brentford striker fired across the face of goal.
The misses came back to haunt the Tigers as 12 minutes into the second half Mitrovic lost marker Jacob Greaves to glance home his recordequalling goal from a Neco Williams centre.
His celebration in front of Hull fans saw objects thrown from the crowd with the Tigers likely to be in hot water with the FA depending on referee Andy Woolmer’s report.
Mitrovic now has
25 goals in his last
21 appearances. Keane Lewis-Potter and Richie Smallwood had efforts well saved by Marek Rodak as Hull slid to a third straight defeat to leave them with a 12-point cushion on the bottom three.
Boss Shota Arveladze said: “I really can’t fault my players for that performance against the best team in the league.”
HULL: Ingram 7; Coyle 6, McLoughlin
6, Greaves 6, Fleming 6; Longman 5 (Moncur 80th), Smallwood 6, Slater
7 (Docherty (75th) 5), Lewis-Potter 6; Honeyman 6, Forss 4 (Smith (72nd) 6)
FULHAM: Rodak 7; N Williams 7, Adarabioyo 7, Ream 7, Robinson
7; Cairney 6 (Reed 76th), Chalobah
7; Wilson 6 (Decordova-Reid 76th), Carvalho 6, Kebano 6; Mitrovic 8 (Muniz 80th)
STAR MAN: Aleksandar Mitrovic
REF: A Woolmer