Match Report Sheffield Wednesday (0) 1-1 (1) Fulham Championship Match Day 08 1920 Hillsborough Saturday 21st September 2019    KO: 15:00pm Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham)

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney

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Atdhe Nuhiu salvaged a point for Sheffield Wednesday in a 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw with Fulham to preserve Garry Monk's unbeaten start as Owls boss.

Fulham captain Tom Cairney's 42nd-minute strike seemed set to give Fulham their first victory in five games in all competitions until Nuhiu struck in the fourth minute of five added on at Hillsborough.

It was richly deserved as Monk's side - he began his reign with a 2-0 victory at Huddersfield last weekend - had carved out the better chances throughout the 90 minutes.

Up until Cairney's strike, Fulham had dominated the game in terms of possession but had done little of note with it, save for a tame effort from Ivan Cavaleiro and a left-wing free-kick from Anthony Knockaert swung into the arms of Keiren Westwood.

Instead, it was the Owls who had come closest to breaking the deadlock, with Adam Reach a thorn in Fulham's right flank.

A delightful 10th-minute cross from Reach's left foot found Steven Fletcher, whose header was just over the angle of bar and post, while 11 minutes later a piercing low ball from the 26-year-old winger with his right foot just evaded the Scot.

In the 24th minute, Wednesday came close to making the breakthrough, with a first-time shot from Reach turned away by Marcus Bettinelli.

Match Stats	Sheffield Wednesday	Fulham
Goals	(0) 1	1 (1)
Scorers	Nuhiu 90+3	Cairney 42
,
Goal attempts	12	9
On target	5	2
Shooting Accuracy	42%	22%
Possession	29%	71%
Passes	260	634
Passes Success	65%	85%
Crosses	12	15
Crosses Success	58%	33%
Corners	2	5
Tackles	18	13
Tackles Success	50%	62%
Saves	1	4
Fouls	15	11
Offsides	5	3
Yellows	2	1
Reds	0	0
source: SkySports

Although Owls captain Barry Bannan reacted quickly in pouncing on the loose ball, his attempt from a tight angle clipped a post.

After Bettinelli had saved a shot on the turn from 15 yards from Kieran Lee, with Reach again the supplier with a low ball from the right, Fulham struck three minutes before the break.

From Joe Bryan's low cross from the left, Westwood, perhaps deceived by the sun, which had been in his eyes throughout the first half despite him wearing a cap, took his time to react.

In the end, Westwood could only push the ball out to Cairney, who side-footed home his second goal of the season from 10 yards.

The second period was almost a mirror image of the first, with Fulham controlling possession, but Wednesday the team carving out the opportunities, and ultimately netting the goal.

On the hour the home side should have equalised, with Bannan placing a cross onto the head of Jacob Murphy, who could only glance his effort narrowly wide with his first touch of the game after replacing Reach a minute before.

After Bannan had volleyed a 20-yard left-footer just past a post two minutes later, the game had to wait until the 87th minute for the next chance, with 77th-minute substitute Nuhiu - on for Fletcher - heading a cross from Liam Palmer straight at Bettinelli.

That seemed to be it until one last attack at the death, with Nuhiu stabbing home at the far post after a deep cross from Kadeem Harris had taken a slight deflection into his path.

Garry Monk: "We pushed right to the end, and got what we deserved, which was a point. I said to the players at half-time that it won't be the last time they face a goal deficit so if they wanted to be a team, to build as a team, then they had to show character, and to come out and fight in that shirt, and I thought they did that wonderfully well.

"There are definitely things we need to work on, but the foundations of fight, spirit, character and organisation, to come fighting back the way we did are most important, and we saw that today."

Scott Parker: "When the goal comes so late, and in the manner it did, it is disappointing. In the end, it's basic defending which has cost us and we sit here with one point instead of three. We keep doing what we are doing. It's all about fine margins in what is a tough league. Last week against West Brom it was the same when a mistake cost us.

"Today, in the dying stages, you are trying to hang on to something, to get three points and get things rolling. But it's not been the case. So we move on and we dust ourselves down. We've got a good squad, I believe in what we are doing, and we have the quality in the squad to win matches."

Sheffield Wednesday: Westwood, Odubajo, Iorfa, Borner, Palmer, Hutchinson, Reach (Murphy 59), Lee (Winnall 70), Bannan, Harris, Fletcher (Nuhiu 77)

Unused substitutes: Dawson, Fox, Bates, Luongo

Goals:
Nuhiu 90+3 (header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.)

Booked: Hutchinson (90,d), Borner (90+2,f)

Fulham: Bettinelli, S Sessegnon (Odoi 67), Mawson, Ream, Bryan, De Cordova-Reid, Reed, Cairney, Knockaert (Kamara 83), Mitrovic, Cavaleiro (Arter 66)

Unused substitutes: Rodak, McDonald, Johansen, Onomah

Goals:
Cairney 42 (left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.)

Booked: Bettinelli (90,tw),

Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham)

Attendance: 23,342