Cardiff City tried right until the end. They fell just short, but they can go with their heads held high after losing by just one goal on aggregate. Fulham are just one game away from a return to the Premier League.

Brentford will be their opponents in the final. The Bees knocked out Swansea City by the same score on aggregate (3-2).

The match started well for Cardiff City, who were looking to come back from 0-2 down in the first encounter. They hit the front early on.

However, seconds after Nelson made it 0-1 after heading home a Ralls corner at the back stick, Fulham hit back.

Kebano levelled things up after a low cross into the middle of the box which saw the man from DR Congo beat the goalie. The Cardiff defence left a lot to be desired.

Fulham managed to do in the ninth minute what Cardiff failed to do at home. score. The first half ended 1-1 and it was all to play in the second 45.

Cardiff had to throw people forward and they went back in front in the 47th minute. A header was saved by Marek Rodak in the Fulham goal, Hector miskicked his clearance and Tomlin volleyed home.

There was a long way still to go, but Fulham managed to hold on despite the Bluebirds having opportunities to score a third and force extra-time. Scott Parker's men are just 90 minutes away from a Premier League return against local rivals Brentford. The Bees have never been in the top flight before and the huge game takes place at Wembley on Tuesday night.

C. Nelson

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