A very late penalty from Tommer Hemed maintained Brighton’s perfect start to the Championship with a narrow 2-1 victory away to Fulham.

It was the Gulls who took the lead at Craven Cottage on the half hour mark through Sam Baldock before Tom Cairney levelled things up for the home side just before the break.

Fulham dominated the second half proceedings with Matt Smith having a host of opportunities, but ultimately it was Hemed’s set-piece that stole all three points in the last seconds.

First half

The game was only a minute old when the first opportunity of the match came around, Hemed teed it up for Beram Kayal who hit a sweet shot from outside the area but Marcus Bettinelli got down well to beat it away.

After that opening opportunity things died down until Chris Houghton’s side took the lead in the 29th minute, Bruno crossed it in for Baldock and he did brilliantly to give the Gulls the lead by burying the shot into the bottom corner.

Three minutes before the break, the home side levelled things up once again in spectacular style, Lasse Vigen Christensen set it up for Cairney who hit it brilliantly into the top corner giving former Fulham keeper David Stockdale no chance of keeping it out. There was a ton of pressure from both sides going into the final ten minutes with both still looking to claim the three points late on.

Second half

Bettinelli had to be on his best form in the second period  to stop Baldock getting his second of match, Gaetan Bong’s ball found the striker whose shot look destined for the bottom corner but he did brilliantly to stretch to keep the scores level.

Smith had been a menace all game for the home side and he was causing problems again when he had to excellent opportunities to score inside of a minute, in the 77th minute he had a close-range header well saved by Stockdale before another headed opportunity moments later but that opportunity was wide of the mark.

Brighton seemed to be under the quash of Fulham pressure, but they had their own opportunity to snatch the win nine minutes from time. Solly March’s last contribution was a good cross which found the head of Hemed in the centre but once again it was wide of the mark.

Moments later Ross McCormack had his own opportunity to give his side the lead when his shot was set up beautifully by the headed pass of his strike partner Smith, but once again, Stockdale was there to deny the Cottagers the lead.

Fulham pushed for the win going into second-half extra time with McCormack coming close but it was Houghton’s side who had the opportunity to nab the win when Kanzenga Lualua drew the foul from Shaun Hutchinson in the penalty area and referee Neil Swarbrick showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Hemed stepped forward to take the crucial spot kick and placed it coolly into the bottom corner which sent the away crowd into a frenzy and made sure his side returned to the coast with all three points. 

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.