WELL this West London Derby did little to convince anybody that Fulham vs Brentford is one of football’s fiercest rivalries.
It was an ‘on the beach’ classic with the Bees knowing they were safe in 16th with 35 points, while Fulham had zilch to play for in 13th before they faced off.
Thomas Frank’s side have been hit hard by Ivan Toney’s betting chaos and injuries this season while Marco Silva’s side have felt a hangover from Aleksandar Mitrovic’s exit and failed to find consistency.
At least Brentford’s chanting in this West London derby has got more creative over the years.
Their supporters used to sing nothing more offensive than “Bees Up, Fulham Down” to the tune of “Knees Up Mother Brown”.
But they provided the most entertaining moment of the first-half by chanting “Michael Jackson, he’s one of your own” in a nod to the old statue of the singer outside Craven Cottage during the Mohamed Al-Fayed days.
Both sides showed flashes of energy to start with as Sasa Lukic pounced on a loose ball and ricocheted a shot off Nathan Collins and just over the bar.
But Brentford hit back as Bryan Mbeumo was slipped in behind by Ivan Toney after Willian was caught napping.
The Frenchman cracked an effort onto the crossbar before Keane Lewis-Potters’ rebound was comfortably saved by Bernd Leno.
Kristoffer Ajer was forced off with a busted hooter and blood pouring down his face after what looked like an accidental kick in the face by Alex Iwobi.
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Mads Roerslev replaced him just before the break.
There was plenty of huff and puff again with no real end product in the second-half, and pulses certainly weren’t racing.
Bryan Mbeumo was once again involved, this time dancing down the right, shimmying past Antonee Robinson before drilling it across the middle but Leno mopped up the damage.
On 64-minutes Marco Silva had seen enough, hauling off birthday boy Rodrigo Muniz for Raul Jimenez and Willian for Adama Traore.
Home supporters were left livid after a tussle between Yoane Wissa and Sasa Lukic which left the Bees man hitting the deck – but referee Graham Scott and VAR didn’t get involved.
The host’s mustered just ONE SHOT in the second-half to sum up the snooze-fest.
Jimenez was left with his head in his hands after missing an absolute sitter for Fulham following Traore’s inch-perfect cross.
Traore certainly added some oomph to Marco Silva’s side, and charged into the box like a rhino before cracking an effort off Flekken in goal but clearly both sides already have their feet up, puffing on cigars.
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