Fulham 3-0 Derby County: Aleksandar Mitrovic nets 13th Championship goal of season
- Published
Bobby Decordova-Reid's opener against Derby was his first goal for Fulham since joining on loan from Cardiff in August
Aleksandar Mitrovic's 13th league goal of the season helped send Fulham third in the Championship as they condemned outclassed Derby to a fourth straight away defeat.
Mitrovic, the division's leading scorer, headed home Ivan Cavaleiro's corner just before half-time to add to Bobby Decordova-Reid's early opener and reward Fulham's first-half dominance.
Decordova-Reid got in front of the Derby defence to poke home Aboubakar Kamara's inviting cross after just seven minutes to put the Cottagers on the way to a third successive win.
Serbia striker Mitrovic should have added to his tally in the second half but headed a good chance over before turning provider late on, setting up Tom Cairney to slot home Fulham's third.
Rams keeper Kelle Roos was hesitant to come off his line for both of Fulham's close-range goals but made fine stops from Kamara, Cavaleiro and Mitrovic to prevent Derby's margin of defeat being greater.
While Mitrovic, back from a one-game ban, again found the net, Kamara - keeping his place after scoring twice as a stand-in against QPR - equally caught the eye for the dominant hosts.
The French striker, continuing his return from exile after being arrested following a training-ground clash in January, was at the heart of Fulham's best moves before limping off in the second half.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu, meanwhile, will hope the impending introduction of Wayne Rooney into the coaching set-up can help provide a cure to their travel sickness.
The Rams have won their past five games at Pride Park, including the past four without conceding, but have suffered four straight away defeats, drawing a blank each time, and have not won on the road in the league since the opening day.
They could have remedied that before Decordova-Reid's opener but Tom Lawrence scuffed wide when well placed and the Rams failed to register a single shot on target, with Lawrence and Martyn Waghorn both wayward with late efforts.
Fulham manager Scott Parker told BBC Radio London:
"Today was tough, we played in a short space of time this week and it was always going to be tough physically for us.
"I thought we executed everything we spoke about in the last few days, I don't think they had any shots on target and we really executed in the final third.
"I'm really pleased with the team and really pleased with the lads, it's a good result."
Derby boss Phillip Cocu told BBC Radio Derby:
"It's not good enough, because if we can avoid conceding from set-pieces, we'd have many more points than we have at the moment.
"After six minutes, the set-piece, I have to see it back, but I think it's a mistake. Then they had what they wanted. They were leading so they didn't really need to [attack].
"They tried to get us out and then they play in that strength with Mitrovic, so they can play the short game, get some midfielders out of position, then play direct. They're difficult to stop."
