Reggae Boy, Reggae Boyz targets play central EPL roles

LONDON (CMC):

REGGAE BOY Bobby Reid set Fulham on their way to an entertaining 3-2 win over Brentford with a goal inside the first minute at Craven Cottage on Saturday, in a first English Premier League meeting between the London rivals.

Aleksandar Mitrovic settled it by heading a 90th-minute winner after Brentford had fought back from 2-0 down. Mitrovic, who earlier forced goalkeeper David Raya into a couple of fine saves, finally found his third goal of the season.

Fulham had led after 44 seconds when Reid, 29, tapped in from close range after Premier League debutant Jay Stansfield’s shot popped up off the crossbar.

Summer signing Joao Palhinha doubled Fulham’s advantage with a thumping header, but Christian Norgaard brought the visitors back into the game with a well-struck volley straight from a corner just before half-time.

Fourth in the table

Reggae Boyz target Ivan Toney, 26, who had two goals ruled out for offside, levelled just after the break, but Mitrovic had the final word.

A first win of the season sees Fulham move up to fourth in the table after maintaining their unbeaten start, while the Bees drop to fifth.

Reggae Boy Jonson Clarke-Harris and his strike partner Jack Marriott bagged a double apiece as Grant McCann’s Peterborough United ran riot to continue their flying start to the season in League One with a 4-0 drubbing of previously unbeaten Lincoln City.

Marriott had already struck the crossbar twice before he broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, Clarke-Harris then taking over the scoring duties as he doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 29th minute.

The 28-year-old Clarke-Harris was then left with the simple task of tapping in his fifth goal of the season after Joe Ward nutmegged Jamie Robson and delivered a perfect pass two minutes before the break. Marriott added his second in the 50th minute to complete a resounding fourth win from Peterborough’s opening five games.

Another Reggae Boyz target, Demarai Gray, salvaged a late point for Everton in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park as the Toffees’ winless start to the new Premier League season continued.

Brennan Johnson looked to have scored the winner for the visitors until the 26-year-old Gray found himself through one-on-one from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s long kick and rolled a composed finish beyond custodian Dean Henderson to save the Toffees’ blushes.

“When you have 19 shots at home, you expect to see more than one goal,” said Everton manager Frank Lampard, who believed his side should have won the game.