Honours shared in West London derby at Craven Cottage
Fulham and Brentford shared the spoils in an entertaining West London derby with a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
Unbeaten away from home in their last four games, Brentford faced a home side without a victory in their last five.
Fulham were under the guidance of senior coach Stuart Gray for the first time since he was announced as interim first team manager this week.
However, it was the visiting side who had the early bulk of the play, although Nico Yennaris should have done better on 13 minutes when he sliced wide following a powerful run.
Brentford took the lead from the penalty spot after 18 minutes through Alan Judge, after Ashley Richards had fouled captain Jake Bidwell.
Lasse Vibe came close to doubling the lead in the 24th minute when his curled effort forced Fulham goalkeeper Andre Lonergan to palm away to safety.
Fulham almost snatched an equaliser a minute later but David Button blocked a Ryan Fredericks shot and Ross McCormack was unable to follow up on the loose ball.
After more sustained pressure from the home side, their reward finally came six minutes before the break, albeit it in fortunate circumstances when James Tarkowski headed past Button after a dangerous McCormack cross.
Brentford looked to make amends after the break, with Konstantin Kerschbaumer and Ryan Woods forcing Lonergan into action.
Both sides were looking to attack, making the game an open contest. Lonergan was the busier of the two keepers, however, firstly excellently getting down low to save a 61st-minute drive from Vibe. A minute later, he was forced to block a fierce shot from Judge from an acute angle.
The frustration from Brentford was magnified significantly after 65 minutes, when Moussa Dembele was able to deftly turn the ball past the onrushing Button after McCormack played him through into the middle of the box.
Parity was restored five minutes later, when Jack O'Connell connected with a Tarkowski flick-on from a corner, to equalise from close range.
McCormack was denied from a 76th-minute free kick on the edge of the box, when his effort was punched away by Button.
Both sides looked determined to earn a late winner, although the last significant effort of note fell to Dembele on 84 minutes, when his turn and shot was somehow blocked by Jake Bidwell.
Source: PA
