Championship leaders Fulham stumble against Sheffield United
Fulham missed the chance to go five
points clear at the top of the Championship as they suffered a surprise 1-0
loss at home to Sheffield United on Monday.
Iliman Ndiaye's early goal at Craven
Cottage meant the Blades remain unbeaten under new manager Paul Heckingbottom.
They moved up to 11th place in the
table, three points off the play-offs, with their fourth win in a row.
Despite Fulham suffering their first
defeat since October 2 to end a run of 11 unbeaten matches, the London club
remained two points clear of Bournemouth at the top of the table.
Only the top two teams at the end of
the regular season are guaranteed promotion to the Premier League.
The decisive moment of the game came
in just the third minute when Ndiaye, receiving the ball in his own half,
advanced as Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream back-tracked before the forward
struck an accurate shot into the bottom corner.
Sheffield United then protected
their lead with aggressive defending that denied Fulham room to play.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was forced to
drop deeper to get possession but the Fulham favourite did latch onto a Kenny
Tete pass in the 19th minute only for his shot on the run to go wide of the
target.
Fulham brought on Tom Cairney at
half-time but the presence of an extra playmaker did not lead to any clear
chances.
With 15 minutes left, Mitrovic's
shot was easily dealt with by Blades keeper Wes Foderingham before the Serb
went close with another shot that hit the underside of the bar.