Bryan double seals dream Premier League return for Fulham

Joe Bryan scored twice in extra-time as Fulham sealed a dream return to the Premier League with Wembley glory over west London rivals Brentford.

It was a technical masterclass from Whites head coach Scott Parker as they largely nullified the threat of the vaunted Bees attack.

Bryan’s first goal was a moment of magic as he completely deceived Brentford keeper David Raya. The full-back held up a hand to indicate a whipped delivery but instead curled past the wrongfooted stopper from 40 yards.

And the former Bristol City man doubled Fulham’s advantage in the 118th minute. He played a one-two with Aleksandar Mitrovic and converted from close range.

Substitute Ivan Cavaleiro could have made it 3-0 as the Whites broke but Raya came out to save at his feet.

There was still time for Henrik Dalsgaard to head home in the closing seconds of stoppage time but there were literally seconds left in the contest.

Fulham were the superior team in the first half, only lacking an end product in the final third.

Parker made bold changes to his side as he started with the industrious Abou Kamara and Denis Odoi at right-back. Mitrovic was only on the bench – but would make an impact when he set up Bryan’s second strike of the night.

Neeskens Kebano went close with a free-kick soon after the restart while Bobby Reid produced an unconvincing finish when the ball broke to him inside the box.

Ollie Watkins’ first sight of goal came in the 71st minute but Marek Rodak was able to tip over his fierce strike.

Mitrovic had missed both the previous play-off matches as he recovered from a hamstring injury but was introduced just before the end of normal time.

Watkins could not convert a near-post chance in the second minute of stoppage time and then Bryan’s brilliant inventiveness gave Fulham the lead – the first goal they had scored against Thomas Frank’s side this season.

Bryan had only scored once in the campaign – back in September against Wigan Athletic – but showed impeccable timing to net the two biggest goals of his career.

Mitrovic provided the deft touch for his second which put the Bees on the ropes. Luckily Dalsgaard’s goal came too late for Brentford.

Parker is the first manager to win promotion to the Premier League in his first full season in senior management since Roy Keane at Sunderland in 2007.

It also means that the Whites have won both their Championship play-off finals at Wembley. Now comes the challenge of getting ready for a Premier League season that starts on August 12.

But the spirit on show in the play-off matches in particular means there are reasons to believe they won’t be such easy pickings for top-flight clubs this time around.