Neco Williams’ assist streak continues while goalkeeper is the odd one out

February 21, 2022
Joanna Durkan

Neco Williams made it three assists in three league games for Fulham but it was to be too little too late for his new side, while Vitezslav Jaros kept his first clean sheet for Notts County.

The Welshman has featured for a maximum 360 minutes for Fulham since making his switch on deadline day, making the most of the opportunity presented to him by Marco Silva.

And while an injury to Kenny Tete opened the door, Williams is more than staking his claim to keep his spot for the foreseeable with another 90-minute display that ended with an assist.

But it came in a rare Championship defeat for Fulham against promotion hopefuls Huddersfield, with Danny Ward and Duane Holmes finding the net before the 20-year-old setup Bobby Reid.

It may have been an attempt at a long-range hit that was taken out of the air by Reid, but it was just rewards for the youngster who was a lively option on the right flank throughout.

It serves as another valuable experience for Williams who will now be competing for a spot with Tete following his return, and he is eyeing continual improvement.

“Marco Silva is a fantastic coach and manager,” Williams said in Fulham‘s programme. “He knows the style he wants to play and I think I can definitely improve under him.”

Elsewhere in the Championship, Sepp van den Berg similarly tasted defeat as Preston were unable to complete a comeback against Reading after conceding three inside 55 minutes.

Daniel Johnson and Cameron Archer did offer Preston hope late in the contest to make it 3-2, but it was not a typically strong performance from the young Dutchman as many have come to expect.

Van den Berg grew into the game after struggling in his duels on the ground and in the air, winning one of six, on a day that saw Reading outperform their position just above the relegation zone.

In fact, Vitezslav Jaros was the only Liverpool loanee to walk away from the weekend’s action with a victory after helping Notts County keep a clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Eastleigh.

It was the goalkeeper’s third successive league start for the Magpies and it was a relatively straightforward afternoon for Jaros with Eastleigh providing little threat to his goal.

Jake Cain, meanwhile, was back in the XI for Newport and played 76 minutes as they rescued a point late on from the penalty spot against promotion rivals Mansfield.

And finally, Ben Woodburn was handed just 25 minutes as Hearts’ run without a victory in the Scottish Premiership extended to four games.