Fulham lose at Derby as promotion party put on hold
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Fulham were stunned 2-1 by struggling Derby County on Friday and were made to wait a little longer to secure their return to the Premier League.
The Championship leaders would have sealed a third promotion in five seasons with victory and they were on track when Fabio Carvalho put them ahead in the 20th minute when he was set up by Jamaican international Bobby Reid.
But Wayne Rooney’s Derby hit back with goals from teenager Luke Plange in the 51st minute before Tosin Adarabioyo put through his own goal in the 73rd minute.
The result leaves Derby nine points behind fourth-bottom Reading and safety while Fulham still enjoy a comfortable advantage at the top with five games to play.
Earlier 10-man Luton earned a priceless 1-0 win over play-off rivals Nottingham Forest.
Kal Naismith’s first-half penalty proved decisive at Kenilworth Road but the home side had to hang on after Sonny Bradley was sent off for a trip on substitute Sam Surridge 13 minutes from time.
The only goal of the game came in the 37th minute after Forest midfielder Jack Colback handled James Bree’s cross in the area.
Naismith assumed the responsibilities following Elijah Adebayo’s miss at Huddersfield on Monday, keeping his nerve to send Brice Samba the wrong way.
Luton’s win ended Forest’s 10-game unbeaten league run and lifted them above their rivals into fourth spot in the table.
Luton boss Nathan Jones praised his team’s “magnificent performance”.
“I felt they were exceptional today, tactically I thought we were brilliant. We went up against a top, top side and managed to get the win,” he said.
Forest boss Steve Cooper was philosophical about the end of Forest’s long unbeaten run.
“We were going to lose a game at some stage,” he said. “It was very unlikely we were going to carry on until the end of the season and not get beat.”
The top two sides in the second-tier Championship go up automatically to the Premier League while teams that finish from third to sixth battle for a single promotion slot via the play-offs.
Ten-man Blackburn suffered a major blow to their play-off hopes, conceding two late goals to lose 2-1 at relegation-threatened Peterborough and drop to eighth.
Second-placed Bournemouth drew 0-0 with Middlesbrough while Sheffield United, chasing a place in the play-offs, lost 2-1 at home to Reading.
Huddersfield remain in third place after a 2-2 draw with QPR.
