Fulham are back in the Premier League.

Fulham FC based in south-west London won promotion back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.  They were relegated last campaign but managed to bounce straight back up beating London rivals Brentford FC in the Championship play-off final, 2-1 after extra-time.

Beaten play-off finalists Brentford would be kicking themselves that they hadn't won automatic promotion.  They narrowly missed out on finishing second by just two points behind West Bromwich Albion.  The Bees' as they are known, scored a staggering 80 goals during the season (the best) and only conceded 38 (second best).  So for them to not get promoted was a bit of a shock.  They boast some really good talented players, namely Algerian winger Said Benrahma who scored 17 goals and striker Ollie Watkins who was the joint top goal scorer in the league tallying 26 goals.  He shared the honors with Fulham's center forward Aleksander Mitrovic.

To the game itself.  It was a very cagey affair early on with both teams appearing nervous, as the reward at the end of the game was massive.  Defenses and goalkeepers proved to be on top and the game ended goalless at the end of ninety minutes.  The game came to life in the thirty added minutes in extra-time.  The strike to open the scoring was a 35-yard effort from full-back Joe Bryan whose free-kick flew into the goal, as he had brilliantly disguised his shot to be a cross.  But what he did was make the Brentford goalkeeper think he was going to cross the ball.  As the clock ticked down to the final whistle, Bryan made it two with a tidy finish after he pushed up to help an attack.  Brentford did bag a consolation goal through Danish defender Henrik Dalsgaard as the referee blew his whistle to end the clash.   Fulham are back in the big time.  Congratulations to them.

Key words and expressions

campaign- It's another phrase for season.

kicking themselves- To be annoyed/frustrated at something.

narrowly- By a very small margin/amount.

staggering- An amazing feat.

shared the honors- To win something alongside someone else.

cagey affair- No teams wanted to make a mistake.  Both teams were playing it safe.

appearing- The manner of the players actions.

disguised- To look to do something but to do it in a sneaky, unusual way.  To try and deceive your opponent.

clock ticked down- The end of the game is approaching.  It's the final few seconds of the contest.

consolation goal- To score a goal but it doesn't have a positive effect on the game for you or your team.


Put the key words or expressions into blanks correctly


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