- Fulham thrashed Nottingham Forest 4-0 on the Metropolis Floor on Sunday
- Djed Spence's personal objective seven minutes into the sport gave Fulham the lead
- Three second-half targets in 9 minutes noticed Marco Silva's males stroll to victory
- Fulham return to second spot, 5 factors behind league leaders Bournemouth
Fulham returned to the automated promotion spots this afternoon after a 4-0 win away on the division's in-form workforce Nottingham Forest.
An Aleksandar Mitrovic brace added to an personal objective and a Neeskens Kebano strike as Marco Silva's Fulham handed a big take a look at at a workforce who had received 4 and drawn one other in new boss Steve Cooper's first 5 video games.
The London facet have received 4 of their final 5 - with an odd 4-1 thrashing at Coventry sandwiched in the course of that run - and one can be a idiot to guess in opposition to them making an prompt return to the Premier League.
These three factors takes them again second, behind solely Bournemouth, nonetheless unbeaten beneath former Cottager boss Scott Parker.
It was removed from a simple win, although, with Forest the higher facet for the very best a part of an hour and solely a medical finisher from levelling the competition.
A lot of the pre-match chatter was about how Cooper is beginning to awaken 'sleeping giants' Forest and, whereas it's early days, a deafening rendition of Mull of Kintyre pre-match painted an image of a fanbase capable of consider once more.
However simply seven minutes have been on the clock once they have been silenced and hit with a powerful dose of actuality. Rome wasn't inbuilt a day and, for all of the positives round Cooper's begin, defensive errors can't be eradicated in a single day.
MATCH FACTS & RATINGS
Supervisor: Steve Cooper 6.5.
Booked: Odoi, Ream, Wilson.
Supervisor: Marco Silva 7.
Referee: Matthew Donohue 5.
Attendance: 27,470.
As Fulham's Jean-Michael Seri sentin a nook from the left, the Forest defending was statuesque and shoddy. Mitrovic snuck in on the close to post- unmarked - and easily directed the ball goalwards together with his left foot. Within the melee of our bodies within the six-yard field, the ball deflected into the web - later to be awarded as a Djed Spence personal objective.
'We can't hold giving groups a head begin with these sloppy targets,' stated one Forest fan beneath the press field. Forest had come from behind to win twice in Cooper's first 5 matches, however repeating that in opposition to Fulham is a much bigger job than doing so in opposition to Barnsley and Bristol Metropolis.
Cooper's facet responded effectively, although, and attacked with tempo and function. Brennan Johnson, the 20-year-old academy graduate, was the shining mild - he continuously drove on the Fulham defence however, like most of his team-mates, end-product was amiss.
Johnson swung and missed at an opportunity of his personal late within the first half and, with the primary assault of the second interval, Lewis Grabban was unmarked about 12 yards out however his shanked shot went into the highest tier of the Trent Finish.
Forest continued to be the facet within the ascendency however have been dealt a sucker-punch as Fulham scored three targets in eight minutes to place the sport to mattress.
Defenders Scott McKenna and Tobias Figueiredo by chance collided and fell to the bottom, the ball falling straight to Mitrovic who tucked away from six yards out. Unhealthy luck.
Then Harry Wilson threaded in Kebano, who unleashed a hard-and-low shot into the close to put up for 3-0. Sport over.
Mitrovic made it 4 from the spot minutes later, after Denis Odoi was bundled over as he lined up a shot. Capitulation.
So this was a dose of actuality for Forest however, for Fulham, the kind of hard-earned victory that sends a stark don't-write-us-off message to the remainder of the division.