There were no shortage of players who made telling contributions as Fulham landed a major blow in the race for promotion to the Premier League by beating Derby County 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. 

For the second league game in succession, it was Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon who netted the goals as the Cottagers saw off a high-flying side as the pair put Slavisa Jokanovic's side 2-0 up within 22 minutes.

The second half saw the Whites forced to soak up pressure from the Rams. Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli made a late sprawling save just after reliable holding midfield player Kevin McDonald had made a goalline clearance in stoppage time.

Bettinelli was keen to point out the contribution of McDonald, even though it might not get as much praise as the goalscorers receive.

Speaking to the club's official website, he said: "It was a good save. I think the reason it comes about is an average punch from me which I could do better on.

"The main thing was Kevin McDonald’s clearance. Cameron Jerome cut it back, it’s gone past me and Kev’s there. That just shows the desire we have to keep balls out of our goal.

"He’s a central midfielder and he doesn’t always get enough credit because the job he does defensively is spectacular. A lot of the time it goes unnoticed but that clearance was match-winning.

"My save was good, but it’s got nothing on Kev’s clearance, and congratulations to him, he’s been absolutely perfect the last few games helping the back four out and he’s tremendous on the ball.

“Big Mitro was really, really good up front, he gives us a massive outlet, holds the ball up really well, and he deserved his goal. Sess again on the scoresheet, that sums him up. He’s a boy with a hell of a future.

"He’s had a busy week picking up two awards, but he goes and bags again so congratulations to him. It’s an incredible result. We knew how good a side Derby are.

“It shows how we’ve changed as a side. We might have drawn that game earlier in the season, but we stayed resolute, we stayed brave.

“First half we were a real threat going forward, on another day it could have been three or four. That’s us, we’re frightening going forward. Defensively we’ve had questions asked of us over the last few years, and lately we’ve answered all of them."

The Verdict

During the crunch stages of the season, every club needs their players to stand up and be counted.

In what was a massive game, Fulham have four players - Sessegnon, Mitrovic, Bettinelli and McDonald - who have made match-winning contributions to carry on their unbeaten run.

That's why they won't be scared of anyone going into the run-in and it would take a brave backer to bet against them for automatic promotion at this rate.

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