Fulham and Bees draw in derby

Fulham 2 Brentford 2

Jack O’Connell scored the equaliser as Stuart Gray was denied victory in his first game as Fulham’s boss.

Brentford had gone in front on 18 minutes when captain Jake Bidwell was adjudged to have been brought down by Ashley Richards on the corner of the box, though the Fulham full-back appeared to take a piece of the ball.

Alan Judge converted the spot-kick by sending Whites keeper Andy Lonergan the wrong way.

A strong wind hampered both teams in the first half, though Lonergan did make a good save to deny Lasse Vibe while opposite number David Button blocked a Ryan Fredericks effort.

Fulham equalised in fortunate circumstances six minutes before half-time when Ross McCormack’s cross, which appeared to be floating into the hands of Button, was flicked past the keeper by the head of Bees defender James Tarkwoski.

The second half was far more entertaining and Lonergan produced a fine save from Vibe on the hour – made all the more important as Fulham went ahead a few minutes later.

McCormack slipped the ball in to Moussa Dembele and the Frenchman brushed off Tarkowski (pictured above) before slipping the ball home.

The lead lasted six minutes as Fulham failed to deal with a corner, flicked on by Tarkowski and bundled in on the line by O’Connell.

Brentford then thought they’d scored again but substitute Jota’s finish was ruled out for offside as he celebrated in front of 5,000 visiting fans.