Scott Parker makes Fulham vow and assesses Leeds United clash after Brentford blow

Parker's third-placed side featured in the division's first game back after the pause in play due to coronavirus as Fulham lined up for a lunch-time derby at home to fourth-placed Brentford.

Fulham's Bobby Decordova-Reid hit the woodwork in the first half and top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic then had the ball in the net after the break only to correctly be flagged offside.

The contest looked to be heading towards a goalless draw but Thomas Frank's Bees then struck twice in the closing stages through Said Benrahma and Emiliano Marcondes to move only a point behind the Cottagers.

Defeat for Fulham left Parker's side six points behind second-placed West Brom and seven adrift of front-runners Leeds United ahead of their weekend games.

Leeds will line up at Cardiff City on Sunday knowing that victory would establish a ten-point cushion in the automatic promotion places ahead of next Saturday's clash against Fulham at Elland Road.

Parker said every one of his side's remaining games were important in his side's quest to make an immediate return to the Premier League without the need for the play-offs but also admitted there was no bigger contest than Leeds away.

"Of course, it’s an important game," said Parker in his post match press conference, assessing next weekend's clash at Leeds.

"But today was important, the following week is going to be important, the next eight games left are going to be vitally important for us.

"They come no bigger (than Leeds) because you’re playing against a team who are top of the table, the challenge is there for us. Every week you have that.

"The games come thick and fast and they’re tough games. We’ll prepare this week as best we can, and we’ll go and try to put a performance in next week to try and win the game."

Providing his general assessment of the Brentford defeat, Parker admitted: "Disappointing overall because obviously we’ve not won the game, not managed to get a result so it’s bitterly disappointing in that sense.

"The game ebbed and flowed a little bit.

"I felt we had a very good spell in the second half where we had a goal disallowed from Mitrović, their keeper’s pulled off a great save, and we had another couple of chances in and around their box where really, we probably just need one of them to go in and then try and see out the game.

"They were probably the moments where you need to score.

"It was a bit of a killer blow, a sucker punch how they got in and scored their (first) goal, and then the second is obviously a runaway goal where we’re going for it.

"So, overall disappointing, but we dust ourselves off and move on."

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