Slavisa Jokanovic lavished praise on his players after Fulham came through a serious test of their promotion credentials at Millwall tonight by passing with flying colours.
The Whites were distinctly second best in a first half that Neil Harris’ men dominated but got the perfect start to the second period when Ryan Sessegnon fired them ahead within forty seconds. A stunning second from Kevin McDonald put the visitors further in front and what became a comfortable victory was sealed by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s measured finish following a sublime forward run from Tomas Kalas. Jokanovic told his post-match press conference that he was delighted with how Fulham handled the pressure of a big fixture at the New Den:
I must be proud about how my team played. The first 45 minutes, Millwall were strong and used their weapons, but we showed we could be solid. In the second half, we scored early and moved the ball a bit better. We stuck to our style and played a brilliant second 45 minutes.
It’s not easy to play football in this place. The last time Millwall lost here was in November. We didn’t surprise them and they didn’t surprise us. We knew what to expect. They pushed hard – they’re a physically strong team. My team showed confidence, solidarity and found a solution. We did a great job.
We normally trust our style and dominate possession of the ball. We showed great ambition and desire and stuck to our plan. I must be satisfied because my team followed the game plan and played with confidence. We deserved this result.
The Fulham head coach insisted he didn’t provide stirring words of wisdom during the interval, but reminded his team to stick to the footballing philosophy that has underpinned their outstanding unbeaten run since mid-December.
I said nothing special. It’s important for us to be focused and wait for our moment and it arrived at the right time, then we completely controlled the situation. I trust my players and my team trust me. Sometimes a plan works well, sometimes a plan doesn’t work perfectly. They are professional.
