Match Report Sheffield United (2) 4-5 (3) Fulham Championship Match Day 18 1718 at Bramall Lane Tuesday 21st November 2017    KO: 19:45 Referee: James Linington (Newport, IOW)

Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon

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Fulham midfielder Sheyi Ojo

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Ryan Sessegnon and Leon Clarke both scored hat-tricks as Fulham edged a goal-laden game 5-4 to end a six-game drought and stop Sheffield United going to the top of the Sky Bet Championship.

Sessegnon's treble, in addition to two goals from Sheyi Ojo, had put the Cottagers in a seemingly commanding position at 5-2 up before Clarke completed his second successive hat-trick at Bramall Lane, after Samir Carruthers had also scored, to threaten the comeback.

But Fulham held on to record their first win since the end of September and inflict just a third home league defeat of 2017 on the Blades.

Aged only 17, Sessegnon's star continues to rise after his heroics for England Under-19s in the summer and he showed the class which suggests he will go far in the game, while Clarke, at the other end of his career, is having just as much fun, taking his tally to 12 goals in 10 games.

The 32-year-old needed only five minutes to continue his impressive run of form.

Match Stats	Sheff Utd	Fulham
Goals	(2) 4	5 (3)
Scorers	L Clarke 6	Ojo 28
	L Clarke 39	R Sessegnon 30
	Carruthers 86	R Sessegnon 43
	L Clarke 90+1	Ojo 69
	-	R Sessegnon 78
Goal attempts	11	9
On target	7	7
Shooting Accuracy	64%	78%
Possession	55%	45%
Passes	502	428
Pass Success	80%	77%
Crosses	26	7
Crosses Success	19%	14%
Corners	4	3
Tackles	21	20
Tackles Success	62%	65%
Saves	2	2
Fouls	13	8
Offsides	4	1
Yellows	3	4
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

The striker showed a predator's instinct to tuck home the rebound from close range after John Fleck's 20-yard shot was sloppily spilled by Fulham goalkeeper David Button.

United continued to attack with more vigour but Fulham turned the game on its head with two goals in two minutes on the half-hour.

They were gifted an equaliser as Tottenham loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers, acting as last man, criminally missed his kick, allowing Ojo to race through and slot home.

Then in the 30th minute Sessegnon was given time to venture forward and he impressively curled into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

The lead lasted only eight minutes, though, as Clarke banged in his sixth goal in just 76 minutes of action at Bramall Lane to make it 2-2, drilling through the legs of Button from an acute angle.

A crazy first half had one more goal in it as Fulham went back in front when Sessegnon converted Ojo's brilliant cross from the right in the 42nd minute.

Unsurprisingly, the second half failed to live up to 45 minutes that preceded it, until Fulham looking like running away with in the final 25 minutes.

With the hosts pushing for a leveller, Fulham found space on the break made it 4-2 as Aboubakar Kamara found Ojo, whose low shot was deflected into the corner and then Sessegnon flashed one across goal to complete his hat-trick.

It looked like game over, but the Blades were not going down without a fight and after Carruthers saw an effort deflected past Button, Clarke ensured it would be a fight for the matchball when he headed home Billy Sharp's cross.

United could not scramble a leveller and Fulham were left to celebrate a breathless win which eases the pressure on boss Slavisa Jokanovic.

Sheffield United: Blackman, Carter-Vickers (Brooks 58), Jake M Wright (Hanson 75), O'Connell, Basham, Lundstram, Duffy (Carruthers 60), Fleck, Stevens, Leon Clarke, Sharp

Unused substitutes: Moore, Stearman, Daniel Lafferty, Donaldson

Goals:
L Clarke 6 (right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.)
L Clarke 39 (left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the bottom right corner. Assisted by John Fleck.)
Carruthers 86 ( left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Chris Basham.)
L Clarke 90+1 (header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Billy Sharp.)

Booked: Sharp (33,arg), Lundstram (45+4,f), Brooks (90+3,f)

Fulham Button, Fredericks, Kalas, Ream, Odoi, McDonald (Johansen 83), Norwood, Ojo (Fonte 74), Cairney, R Sessegnon, Ayité (Kamara 68)

Unused substitutes: Bettinelli, Kebano, De La Torre, Tayo Edun

Goals:
Ojo 28 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.)
R Sessegnon 30 (right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Oliver Norwood.)
R Sessegnon 43 (right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the top right corner. Assisted by Sheyi Ojo with a cross.)
Ojo 69 (left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Aboubakar Kamara.) .
R Sessegnon 78 (left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Rui Fonte.)

Booked: Fredericks (33,arg), Ayité (45+2,f), Odoi (73,f), Kamara (90+6,tw)

Referee: James Linington (Newport, IOW)

Attendance: 24,445