Democratic Republic of Congo midfielder Neeskens Kebano was on target as Fulham took a big step towards promotion to the Premier League after defeating Cardiff City 2-0 at Cardiff City Stadium in their Championship playoff semifinal first leg on Monday.
Kebano curled in a free-kick from close to the edge of the penalty area in the 91st minute to double Fulham’s lead after Josh Onomah opened the scoring four minutes after the restart with a brilliant solo effort.
It was the Congolese’s fourth goal in his last three games in a season in which he has featured prominently for Fulham in the latter stages of the campaign.
“Thank you all for your messages! Great team spirit and very happy to have scored one more time. See you Thursday!” Kebano tweeted after the game.
Cardiff manager Neill Harris, though disappointed with the defeat, described Kebano’s strike as a “great free-kick”.
Fulham will host Cardiff City at Craven Cottage in the second leg of the semifinal on Thursday. No team has ever reached the playoff final by overcoming a two-goal deficit.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew scored and missed a penalty as Swansea edged 10-man Brentford 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
The home side dominated the game against their opponents who had narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League after losing their last two league matches.
Ayew missed his spot-kick in the 64th minute but made amends 18 minutes later by netting the winner as the hosts capitalized on their man advantage.
The Championship playoff final will be held at Wembley on August 4.
