Fulham all but assured play-off spot despite being held to draw by Brentford
Fulham were left frustrated by west London rivals Brentford but a 1-1 draw all but confirmed their Sky Bet Championship play-off spot.
With Leeds also being held, it would need a 13-goal swing on the final day of the season for the Cottagers to miss out.
Tom Cairney opened the scoring for Fulham in the eighth minute before Nico Yennaris hauled Brentford level 11 minutes before half-time.
Fulham laid siege but Cairney had a penalty saved, chances were missed and Brentford goalkeeper Dan Bentley's heroics ensured honours ended even.
Brentford were the league's highest scorers this calendar year and that took some beating against a Fulham side who themselves scored goals for fun.
That was evident when the hosts took an eighth-minute lead via Cairney. A slick interchange saw Sone Aluko feed Ryan Sessegnon, who bore down on goal and unselfishly picked out Cairney for the simple task of stroking home his 12th goal of the season.
The ease with which Brentford were cut open will have worried the large contingent of travelling supporters, who will have been relieved to see Cairney fire over after more neat work involving Sessegnon.
This was anything but a cagey derby. Lasse Vibe brought a flying save out of Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli in the 12th minute of an already absorbing game.
Fulham could, and should, have extended their lead through Floyd Ayite after 24 minutes. After beating the offside trap following Scott Malone's pass, Ayite advanced before somehow lifting the ball high and wide.
Brentford were being run ragged but, against the run of play, they levelled through Yennaris with 34 minutes on the clock. Konstantin Kerschbaumer found space to send Yennaris through and the midfielder made no mistake from 20 yards.
The home team should have restored their lead after 41 minutes with Ayite once again the guilty man. Ryan Fredericks showed great energy before delivering a inch-perfect cross for Ayite to plant his header narrowly wide of Bentley's right post.
Fulham then missed another chance to extend their lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. Referee Darren Bond took his time before correctly awarding the spot-kick after Yohann Barbet hauled down Stefan Johansen.
But the Cottagers, for a staggering ninth time this term, failed from 12 yards as Cairney was denied by Bentley, who also pounced on the rebound for good measure .
Bentley continued to frustrate Fulham as he tipped over Cairney's 25-yard effort early in the second half.
Johansen saw his long-range strike drift agonisingly wide as Brentford were once again pegged back. It seemed a matter of time as Malone blazed over.
Brentford fought back as Vibe's mazy run and shot brought a low save out of Bettinelli to remind Fulham that they posed a threat at the other end. Substitute Florian Jozefzoon also had an effort moments later, but the game drifted to a draw.
Source: PA
