Slavisa Jokanovic upbeat despite loss as Fulham 'dominated' Derby in Championship play-off first leg

Uphill task | Cameron Jerome's first-half header has Derby in the ascendancy in the tie
Getty Images
Nick Mashiter12 May 2018

Slavisa Jokanovic remained positive despite Fulham losing their Championship play-off first leg 1-0 to Derby on Friday night.

Having gone 23 games unbeaten and finished third, Fulham have now lost their last two games, after a final-day defeat at Birmingham, and they lacked the imagination to break Derby down.

Kevin McDonald struck the bar in the second half, but Ryan Sessegnon struggled to make an impact, with Aleksandar Mitrovic also nullified.

They must improve at Craven Cottage on Monday to avoid another play-off defeat after last season's semi-final loss to Reading.

The Cottagers also missed out on automatic promotion this season on the final day, but boss Slavisa Jokanovic remained positive.

He said: "It's not a bad result, it's not the result we deserve, but it's part of football. We dominated and they scored after one cross and Jerome scored a fantastic goal.

"We cannot be frustrated, we must be in some way confident having showed the quality and a great mentality. What we want to do is change the story and win the game on Monday."

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