Fulham were unable to salvage a point against Reading as they missed a late penalty at the Madejski Stadium.
Fulham’s Chris Martin has his penalty saved by Reading’s Ali Al-Habsi
Reading’s victory over Fulham in their Championship clash should have perhaps been all about the Royals’ move back up to third in the table, but instead it was the Cottagers’ failure to convert a chance from 12 yards that was the talking point.
Reading’s goal had indirectly come from a penalty as Roy Beerens followed up to score after John Swift’s spot-kick had initially been saved shortly after the start of the second-half.
It appeared that Fulham were set to secure a share of the points when Lucas Piazon was brought down by Liam Moore inside the box. However, Chris Martin also had his effort saved, but due to the power he put on the attempt, Ali Al-Habsi’s save sent the ball flying in the air and allowed the Reading defence the chance to prevent the away side from getting another attempt in at goal.
Queens Park Rangers’ Alex Smithies saves penalty from Fulham’s Chris Martin
Unfortunately for Fulham fans, Martin’s inability to score from the spot is not an irregular occurrence this term. Amazingly, Slavisa Jokanovic’s side have missed seven penalties throughout the campaign, and have scored just two.
Martin – whose future has been up in the air during this window with Derby wanting to recall him from his loan spell (via BBC Sport) – has been the main offender this season, having also missed in their previous game against Queens Park Rangers as well as their victory over Rotherham back in December.
Meanwhile, Tom Cairney, Sone Aluko, Stefan Johansen and Cauley Woodrow have also failed to convert this term. But which of the quintet has taken the worst spot-kick you have seen this season? Vote now…
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