EPL Adventure Lies In Wait For Pair Of Reggae Boyz
Bobby Decordova-Reid and Michael Hector joined compatriot Wes Morgan to become the only Jamaican internationals set to compete in next season’s English Premier League (EPL) following Fulham’s dramatic 2-1 play-off triumph over Brentford today (4 August).
The English-born pair, most likely to be part of Jamaica’s forthcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the 2022 finals in Qatar, helped Fulham see off their west London rivals in a one-off match that was worth potentially more than a staggering US$150m in terms of sponsorship deals and TV rights to the club.
It was extra-time excitement and goals that brought the contest to long overdue life, with a brace from Joe Bryan putting Fulham into the driving seat before Brentford’s consolation strike courtesy of Henrik Dalsgaard’s last-gasp header.
And Decordova-Reid, substituted at the end of 90 minutes, will be returning to compete in the EPL where he fired in five goals in 27 EPL games during the 2018-19 campaign. Hector, who has never competed in the English top tier despite being with Chelsea for four seasons, should finally get his opportunity in the EPL.
Fulham head coach Scott Parker has, after one season away, achieved a remarkable result in taking his team back into the top flight. For their fans history repeated itself, following in the footsteps of their 2018 Championship play-off final against Aston Villa.
Both Decordova-Reid and Hector played significant roles in an absorbing contest set behind closed doors in the surreal setting of an empty Wembley Stadium, which lacked the usual ambience for such an important match – and was considered to be the world’s richest game with the ridiculously high prize money on offer.
For the two relative newcomers to Fulham this was their third tense tie in swift successive, having both being involved in their two-legged semi-final success over Cardiff City.
And for Bristol-born striker Decordova-Reid, who has represented Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz just four times, this was his third game on the bounce in the starting line-up in place of Serbian star Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Decordova-Reid was involved in the opening goalmouth action on the five-minute mark when he picked out fellow forward Josh Onomah, only for the effort to be denied by diving Spanish shotshopper David Raya.
Two minutes later Hector flirted with danger by bundling over the pacy Said Benrahma on the edge of the box, following Henrik Dalsgaard’s hit-and-hope thumped ball towards the area.
Midway through the opening half the powerful Decordova-Reid tried his luck, but the ball was deflected high and wide of the target for a corner that came to nothing. At the other end of the vast Wembley pitch centre-back Hector showed his class and quick-thinking by stealing the ball off the head of Bryan Mbeumo from Christian Nørgaard’s telling right-wing cross.
After an opening half that brought little in terms of entertainment there was a desperate need for a goal to inject some life into the game. On the brink of the hour-mark Decordova-Reid came perilously close to finally breaking the deadlock. He caught the defence napping by swivelling in the box only to snatch at the bouncing, loose cross and send his shot narrowly wide of the right post.
With Fulham in the ascendancy, through possession and creativity, even Hector went on a rare foray of attack. But he was beaten to Bryan’s thunderous corner at the near post by industrious Brentford substitute Emiliano Marcondes.
With Parker’s troops brilliantly set up defensively, which resulted in Fulham keeper Marek Rodak barely called into action throughout, it was Hector who foolishly gave away a dangerous free-kick by fouling Ollie Watkins in the third and final minute of stoppage time that fortunately for the Jamaican came to nothing.
Championship Golden Boot-winning forward Mitrovic, who bagged 26 league goals this term, missed the previous two contests through injury. But he came off the bench for this final to replace the visibly disappointed Decordova-Reid and tackle extra time.
With no sign of the frenzy that would follow, the clock ticked slowly but surely towards a potential shoot-out, and the frustration overflowed. Hector was deservedly brandished a yellow card for blatantly chopping down tricky Danish midfielder Nørgaard on 98 minutes. Nørgaard was soon cautioned himself and followed into the referee’s book within 60 seconds by Mitrovic for his untidy shove on Marcondes.
After the dust had settled from this unnecessary hullabaloo, full-back Bryan spectacularly swept his 45-yard free-kick past Raya in the 104th-minute. The keeper was caught cold off his line, seemingly anticipating a cross, and gifted Fulham their overdue opening strike.
Bryan doubled his tally and Fulham’s lead with just two minutes remaining before the final whistle. The Bristol City Youth Academy product became an unlikely hero by polishing off a neat and rapid one-two with Mitrovic.
Dalsgaard should have reduced the arrears within 60 seconds of the restart, but the Dane nodded Sergi Canos’ header over the crossbar to miss the gaping target. He made amends within a minute by heading home Nørgaard’s right-wing cross, but it was too little too late.
At the final whistle head coach Thomas Frank earned Brentford their new unwanted record for the most unsuccessful English Football League play-off campaigns, after this became their fourth play-off final defeat.
Fulham, who struggled the last time they were in the EPL partly because they overhauled their squad, will surely have learned their lesson. With the two reliable Jamaicans at their disposal they can expect such stuttering displays to be thing of the past.
Decordova-Reid, who in recent years changed his surname from Reid, competed in the EPL with Cardiff City during the 2018-19 campaign. Following their relegation he played just one Championship match for the Welsh outfit before initially moving to Fulham on loan, but only signed a three-and-a-half year contract with ambitious Fulham last January.
Hector, whose father Pat played first-class cricket three times for Essex in 1977, has never competed in the EPL although he signed a deadline day deal for Chelsea in September 2015. After he joined Chelsea the London-born defender was on the radar of the Boyz and he has since made over 20 appearances under head coach Theodore Whitmore.
However, Hector failed to represent Chelsea competively in four seasons with the club. Last September it was announced that he would join Fulham for an undisclosed fee in the January 2020 transfer window. The 28-year-old has been a journeyman throughout his career, having been loaned out to 15 clubs, with his last outings in the top tier at Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga during the 2016-17 campaign.
The duo now join the EPL, whose season kicks off next month, where they are likely to face former Jamaica captain Morgan. Veteran defender Morgan is a Leicester City legend, having successfully skippered the Midlands club to their one and only unlikely top-flight league crown for 2015-16. But now it is up to both Decordova-Reid and Hector to try and follow in the footsteps of Morgan and become legends for club and country.
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