Fulham beat Leeds United 2-1 at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon in a pulsating game of Sky Bet Championship football to narrow the gap to the men from Elland Road in the race for promotion.

Fulham certainly started well. After Pablo Hernandez had to come off following a hamstring pull very early on, the Cottagers set about their hosts with real vigour and intent.

Indeed, whilst Leeds looked to get into their usual passing rhythm, building from the back, Fulham were at them at every opportunity, seizing loose balls and pouring forward.

It paid dividends inside the opening ten minutes, too, as Aleksandar Mitrovic looped a header back into the six-yard box for Bobby Reid and Ben White to contend for - Reid went down under the challenge and a spot-kick was awarded.

In truth, it was a pretty soft decision but there was nothing soft about Mitrovic's conversion - slamming it in off the upright to give the home side the lead.

The atmosphere before the game, thanks to both sets of fans, already reflected the importance of this clash to the pair of teams involved and the Serbian's strike only helped ramp things up further.

The players responded, too, in what was a frequently frenetic first half. Fulham continued to press and harass to great effect; Harrison Reed forcing the issue in midfield - perhaps over the top at times - with Bobby Reid looking bright down the left.

Leeds, though, are a class side in their own right and gradually got themselves a foothold in the game; Stuart Dallas enjoying a couple of chances and Patrick Bamford proving as busy as ever up front.

They'd not find a way through in the first half, though, and instead the final 15 minutes was punctuated by some typically seasonal pantomimical antics.

Tom Cairney ended up pencil diving into the dugout as Luke Ayling scrambled after the ball for a throw-in; queue a chorus of boos, whilst Joe Bryan and Helder Costa - at each other more than once in the half, grappled and the former tumbled right on the stroke of half-time. Both were handed a yellow card for their troubles.

The second half largely enhanced on the trend from the end of the first; Leeds were in the ascendancy and for the first 15 minutes of the second period they enjoyed good possession.

Indeed, it was here they got back level. Alioski linked up with another sub, Eddie Nketiah, whose fizzed effort could only be parried by Marek Rodak into the path of Patrick Bamford - he would not fluff his lines from there.

Home fans could well have been forgiven for thinking that Leeds would now go on and get in front. After all, the reason the Whites have - or had - such a gap on the Cottagers in the league has been down to their extra level of ruthlessness and efficiency.

Fulham, though, did not roll over with parity restored and instead went about restoring their lead once more.

Ivan Cavaleiro drove for the top corner but was stopped smartly by Kiko Casilla, and the next ten minutes or so provided evidence that, despite their recent form, Fulham have got some great spirit remaining in this side.

And, indeed, a man that has sometimes been embattled this year for his performances provided his own reminder of what he can offer, as Josh Onomah put the home side back in front. After Mitrovic tried the acrobatic, the ball broke loose and Onomah, arriving like a train, crashed the ball into the net - an emphatic finish belying suggestions confidence was low among the Cottagers' squad.

Indeed, after this goal, the next period of play went Fulham's way. A game that saw the momentum swing several times, it was now the home side back with the momentum. Bobby Reid would continue to try and dance his way through the Leeds backline whilst Tom Cairney, who'd been in the wars for much of the game, continued to drive forwards with unrelenting enthusiasm. He'd spoken in the pre-match programme at how determined Fulham were to get out of this rut and his performance in midfield reflected that, constantly getting on the ball and looking to impact play despite a fair few knocks.

In fairness, this was a game where both sides gave as good as they got. It was hoped this pair, so well-respected for their styles of play, would go toe-to-toe for the duration of the match and, as we entered the final 10 neither side was going to give an inch, it was a fine battle to watch.

Perhaps suitably, then, the final section of this game ended fairly evenly. Leeds were looking to probe and Fulham were happy to try and break, eager to see out an all-important victory.

And, perhaps even more suitably, there was still time for a little bit more needle. Kalvin Phillips and Mitrovic would have some words on the halfway line during a break in play, a gaggle naturally forming around them but nothing warranting further bookings to be shown.

Alioski would come close to scoring a dramatic equaliser but his effort, a fine looping strike from the edge of the box after a corner, would soar just over and Mitrovic, so often the one smashing them in, would help clear from under the bar right at the final throes.

2-1 to the home side it would end, then, and faith may well have been a restored, just a bit, this Christmas time for Fulham. Leeds, meanwhile, will be eager to get back to action as soon as possible with just one point coming from their last two games.