Fulham beat Swansea 1-0 in the Championship last night.

Scott Parker's side returned to 3rd-place in the Championship table with a hard-fought win over the Swans. After an hour-and-a-half of back-and-forth football, and some controversial refereeing decisions in favour of Fulham, it was Aleksandar Mitrovic who broke the deadlock.

The Serb had missed a penalty only minutes earlier but in the third minute of injury time, smashed a header against the underside of the bar for his 23rd Championship goal of the season.

It was Tom Cairney though who reaped fans' praise after the game. He put in a thoroughly rounded performance to help Fulham on their way to victory, giving a real captain's effort to keep his side in the hunt for automatic promotion:

Now in his fifth season at Craven Cottage, Cairney has once again proved his importance to the side. He's scored seven goals in the Championship this season and after a slight downturn in form after New Year, he reminded fans of his class last night with a complete midfield display.

He put in four tackles throughout, denying Swansea any real scoring opportunities in the middle of the park, and made three key passes. The attacking side of his game rarely goes unnoticed, but his defensive side does - he proved last night that he's just as effective going backwards as he is going forward.

The only thing missing from his game last night, and what would've capped one of his best performances of the season, was a goal. Cairney has scored just the one goal since New Year, scoring only once in his last 15 appearances.

Fulham's goals have dried up a bit of late and if it weren't for Mitrovic nicking late goals so often, they'd really be struggling for firepower. Parker will want exactly the same from Cairney for the remainder of the season, and if he can rediscover his scoring touch, then Fulham could still have a chance of a top-two finish.

Can you get 15 out of 15 on this Fulham quiz? Have a go now!

The verdict

Cairney is adored at the Cottage and rightly so. This season has been a slog for some players, and of late, Cairney hasn't been performing at his very best. Last night's showing though will give him a world of confidence, and put him in good stead to finish the season strongly.