SESSEGNON IS JUST SPECIAL, SAYS SLAV
DELIGHTED Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic hailed left-winger Ryan Sessegnon as ‘something special’ after he set Fulham on their way to a precious victory at Millwall on Friday night.
The Whites needed a spark and they got it 45 seconds into the second half as Lions keeper Jordan Archer parried a longrange effort from Aleksandar Mitrovic into the path of the rampaging Sessegnon, who fired the ball under the goalkeeper.
The 17-year-old recently picked up five personal accolades for his breakthrough campaign, including Championship player of the season. His goal was his 15th of the season.
“This man is something special,” said Jokanovic. “He's only 17 and his level is unbelievable. He will only become better in the future.”
Kevin McDonald made the game safe 10 minutes into the second half with a superb strike from the edge of the box.
And Fulham capped off a clinical second-half display with a third as Tomas Kalas drove 50 yards into the Millwall half before laying the ball into the path of Mitrovic, who fired home.
It extended Fulham’s unbeaten run to 22 games and piled the pressure on promotion rivals Cardiff.
Jokanovic added: “I’m very proud with how my team played.
The first 45 minutes was tough but we showed we can be confident and solid. In the second half, we scored early and then we started to move a bit better and we created more space.
“We stuck with our style and played brilliantly in the second half and we deserved the victory.
“This place is not easy to play football. They hadn’t lost in 17 matches so it’s not easy for anybody to play Millwall, especially here.”
Lions boss Neil Harris said his side were made to rue missing a host of clear-cut chances.
Jake Cooper smashed the crossbar with an early header before Jed Wallace and Steve Morison missed golden opportu- nities in the first half to punish the visitors.
The defeat was Millwall’s first since New Year’s Day but the result could have been much different had the Lions made the most of their first-half openings.
“We played against a really good team who beat us in the second half,” Harris said.
“In the first half, we could have been out of sight. We put real pressure on but we came out second half and didn’t do well enough with the first two goals.
“The atmosphere in the stadium was superb and it was a proud day for this football club because the performance in the first half merited that atmosphere.
“The lads were brilliant. I said to them I was frustrated but I’m so proud of what we’ve done so far. We were beaten by a very good side and that’s the way football goes.”
The Lions almost made the perfect start but Cooper’s free header rattled the upright - then Shaun Williams fired straight at keeper Marcus Bettinelli.
The Lions thought they had the opening goal when George Saville rifled home from close range, but referee Andre Marriner adjudged Wallace had fouled defender Matt Targett.
The best chance came on 29 minutes when Bettinelli flapped Ben Marshall’s cross straight into the path of Wallace but the midfielder’s effort was cleared off the line by Tim Ream.