Sale Sharks reached their first Gallagher Premiership final for 17 years as they ended Leicester’s hopes of back-to-back titles with a 21-13 victory at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Alex Sanderson’s team will meet his former club Saracens at Twickenham on May 27 in pursuit of a Premiership crown that Sale last claimed when players like Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal ruled the roost.
After finishing 10 points above Leicester during the regular league season, Sale were pushed all the way by Tigers in an absorbing encounter.
Former Leicester fly-half George Ford played a key role in Leicester’s downfall, kicking three penalties and a conversion, while wings Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed claimed tries.
Sale overcame the sight of their captain Ben Curry being carried off injured, and they withstood a resilient Leicester effort that saw a try for wing Harry Potter, plus eight points from the boot of Jimmy Gopperth.
But Leicester will also curse themselves for twice ruining promising late attacking platforms through wayward kicks to touch that prevented attacking lineouts.
Sale showed five changes from their final regular season game against Newcastle, with Gus Warr, Simon McIntyre, Nick Schonert, Akker van der Merwe and Tom Curry all returning for the sold-out clash.
Leicester welcomed back the likes of Freddie Steward and Anthony Watson, but they suffered an injury blow when fly-half Handre Pollard was ruled out, being replaced by 39-year-old Gopperth.
The New Zealander missed a gilt-edged chance to put Leicester ahead when he drifted a close-range penalty wide, but he made amends three minutes later as Tigers moved in front.
Sale’s indiscipline surfaced early on, and Gopperth found his range again, this time from 48 metres to make it 6-0.
The game had a relentless pace to it, and it went up a gear when Sale found their rhythm, probing for gaps through adventurous running from Reed and full-back Joe Carpenter, while England centre Manu Tuilagi also made his presence felt.
Sale were a threat when they were able to put width on their possession, and Roebuck finished off a flowing move before Ford added a touchline conversion as Leicester fell behind.
The Sharks then suffered a major blow when Curry departed the action after suffering a suspected knee injury as Leicester attacked on Sale’s 22. He was replaced by Dan du Preez.
Curry received a standing ovation as he left the action, but he was soon able to watch from the sidelines, with Sharks exerting sustained pressure inside Tigers’ 22.
And Tigers’ cause was not helped when their England prop Dan Cole received a yellow card from Wayne Barnes following a high challenge on Van der Merwe.
Leicester then lost scrum-half Ben Youngs for a head injury assessment after he halted Sale centre Rob du Preez’s charge for the corner, and Tigers’ defence held firm, with Sale taking a 7-6 lead into half-time.
Youngs did not reappear for the second period – fellow England international Jack van Poortvliet took over from him – while Sanderson made early use of the replacements’ bench, sending on props Bevan Rodd and Coenie Oosthuizen.
A successful Ford penalty from just inside’s Leicester’s half opened up a four-point gap, yet the Tigers went back in front seven minutes later when centre Dan Kelly’s long pass sent Potter scampering over, with Gopperth converting.
A Ford penalty then tied the contest at 13-13 with 22 minutes left, and then he turned provider, creating space in midfield, and although his pass to Reed hit the ground, the wing finished brilliantly.
Reed was quickly at it again, breaking clear from inside his own half before firing the ball to replacement scrum-half Raffi Quirke, but the pass was rightly adjudged forward by Barnes.
Ford, who was a dominant figure during the closing quarter, then kicked a long-range penalty that left Tigers eight points behind as their title grip was prised away.
Former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane delivered a withering assessment of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford following Everton’s Premier League defeat by title-chasing Manchester City.
The 29-year-old was given little chance by Ilkay Gundogan’s stunning first-half strike, but was unable to keep out Erling Haaland’s header seconds later and was well beaten by Gundogan’s second-half free-kick as City won 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
Analysing the third goal, Keane, who has questioned Pickford’s credentials in the past, disagreed with fellow pundit Micah Richards’ opinion of Gareth Southgate’s number one.
He told Sky Sports: “Pickford, for the goal…my goodness. He looks so small in there. There’s no spring, he’s not anticipating.
“Micah said before the game he’s a top goalkeeper. He’s not.”
Keane was, however, full of praise for Gundogan and in particular, his improvised 37th-minute finish after he had controlled Riyad Mahrez’s cross on his thigh before flicking the ball home with his back still to goal.
He said: “What an outstanding player. Again, we mentioned (Everton boss) Sean Dyche will be disappointed with the defending, but once it goes in there, his first touch is brilliant; his second one is even better.
“What a player this guy is, absolutely brilliant, the way he times his runs into the box…what a magnificent finish. I’d watch that all day. Brilliant.”
Kevin Sinfield carried Rob Burrow over the finish line at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon after pushing his great friend and former Leeds Rhinos team-mate for 26.2 miles on Sunday.
With just a couple of metres left to go, Sinfield lifted Burrow out of his specially adapted wheelchair and the pair completed the course together in an emotional conclusion at Headingley Stadium.
As a crowd cheered them on, Sinfield gave Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in late 2019, a kiss of affection after joining 12,500 other runners in Leeds’ first marathon in 20 years.
Sinfield has raised over £8million for MND charities after several other ventures, including an Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge in November when he ran seven back-to-back ultra-marathons.
In late 2020, Sinfield ran seven marathons in seven days and in 2021 he completed a run of 101 miles in 24 hours.
Sunday’s event, plus the Leeds Half Marathon which also take place on Sunday, was held by Leeds City Council in partnership with Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All charity and has already surpassed the £1m fundraising mark.
Sinfield told the PA news agency on Friday: “To raise money for the MND Association and the Leeds Hospitals Charity is really important, but this is also about a celebration of friendship.”
Joe Root was out for 10 off 15 balls in his maiden Indian Premier League innings as Rajasthan Royals were skittled for a woeful 59 in a humbling 112-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Root, who was selected for the Royals’ two previous matches but did not bat, overturned an lbw decision on one before Wayne Parnell’s slower ball thudded into the Yorkshireman’s pads in Jaipur.
He reviewed in vain to become Parnell’s third victim, with the left-armer also snaring Root’s England team-mate Jos Buttler, out for a two-ball duck after slapping a short and wide delivery to cover.
Root’s dismissal left the Royals on 28 for five in response to their opponents’ 171 for five.
While Shimron Hetmyer bludgeoned four sixes in his 35 off 19 balls, the West Indies left-hander could not stop the Royals succumbing to the third lowest total in the IPL’s history – all out in 10.3 overs.
The heavy loss has dented the Royals’ hopes of a top-four play-off finish after falling to sixth with just one game remaining. RCB, meanwhile, have climbed to fifth and have two matches left in the regular season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore subjected Rajasthan Royals to a humiliating 112-run thrashing in Jaipur on Sunday, despite brief resistance from Shimron Hetmyer.
The Guyanese batsman made a 19-ball 35 that included a four and four sixes as he tried to get Royals back into the game after crashing to 31-6 after seven overs, chasing RCB’s 171-5. Former England captain Joe Root, who made 10 was the only other batter in double figures for Royals, who were skittled out for 59 in 10.3 overs.
Wayne Parnell was responsible for much of the destruction taking 3-10 from three overs. Michael Bracewell, 2-16, Karn Sharma 2-19 and Glen Maxwell 1-3 provided useful support in the rout.
Earlier, Maxwell scored 54 and Faf du Plessis 55 and Anuj Rawat provided the bulk of the scoring for RCB, who were recording their second win in their last five matches to be fifth in the league table.
Adam Zampa 2-25 and KM Asif 2-42 were the primary wicket-takers for Royals, who were losing their fourth in their last five matches.
Rory McIlroy was right to take a break after his miserable Masters experience in order to avoid a destructive trip down a “rabbit hole”, according to double US Open champion Curtis Strange.
McIlroy did not speak to waiting reporters after a second round of 77 at Augusta National brought a premature end to his latest bid to win a green jacket and complete the career grand slam.
The world number three then withdrew from the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, meaning he missed his second ‘designated event’ of the year on the PGA Tour and lost 25 per cent of his Player Impact Program bonus (£2.4million).
McIlroy felt the break was necessary for his “mental and emotional wellbeing” after a taxing 12 months in which he juggled on-course competition with his role as an unofficial spokesman for the PGA Tour in its battle against LIV Golf.
Strange, who won the second of his back-to-back US Open titles at Oak Hill, venue for the 105th US PGA Championship, said: “I wouldn’t try to advise him on anything because I’m not privy to what he’s feeling right now, but I can only imagine.
“You put in so much energy to try to peak for a tournament like in April, the Masters, and you don’t play well. Why that is, I don’t know.
“Then frustration sets in, and you want to get away for a week or so, so you withdraw the next week. We’ve all gone through that.
“As much as you might love Harbour Town and Hilton Head, you withdraw because you’ve got to get yourself together and you know you’re starting to go down a rabbit hole that you don’t want to go very far down because it’s tough to climb back out.
“I feel for him because I think this LIV conversation the last year and a half, maybe two years, with him being somewhat of the voice and being involved in the schedule and the meetings and the phone calls, I think it’s taken a lot away from his golf.
“I think exhausted is the wrong word, but it’s fatigued him a bit.
“When you leave this game just a little bit focus-wise, it will affect you. He said after the Masters he’s looking forward to just getting back to playing golf, and hopefully that’s the case.”
McIlroy was defending champion the last time the US PGA was played at Oak Hill in 2013 and finished in a tie for eighth, but has since become a member of the club as his wife Erica grew up in Rochester.
Asked if that could work to his advantage, ESPN analyst Strange added: “Oh, I think you look for anything.
“The entire family will be there in more a comfortable atmosphere. It certainly won’t hurt him, put it that way.”
Sam Allardyce refused to criticise Patrick Bamford after the Leeds striker’s saved penalty proved costly in Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle.
Bamford had the chance to atone for his glaring miss in last month’s home draw against Leicester and put relegation battlers Leeds 2-0 up at Elland Road.
Luke Ayling had given Allardyce’s side an early lead, but after Joelinton had hauled down Junior Firpo, Bamford’s weak spot-kick was comfortably saved by Nick Pope.
Allardyce said: “I thought he was good today. He held the ball up, he caused a few problems. He got the cross in for the (opening) goal. We were doing OK with him.
“Hopefully, like everybody needs to do when it gets a little bit better next week and better again, he scores goals when he gets a chance.
“We need goal-scorers on the pitch and also, we’ve not got that many.”
Four minutes after Bamford’s effort, Callum Wilson converted the first of his two penalties following Max Wober’s reckless challenge on Alexander Isak.
Wilson then struck his 17th league goal of the season from the spot early in the second half after VAR had referred referee Simon Hooper to the pitch-side monitor to check Firpo’s handball.
Rasmus Kristensen’s 79th-minute equaliser rescued a point for Leeds, but some fans were left angry that Bamford, low on confidence, had taken the penalty instead of leading goalscorer Rodrigo.
Allardyce added: “Well, I left it how it used to be like before I got here. I mean, I haven’t seen them take many penalties.
“It is what it is. I would have thought if Rodrigo really wanted it he’d have gone and snatched it off Patrick and said ‘I’m taking this’.
“So you miss it, it can happen to anybody. It happened to us today, but at the worst possible time. And that’s very unfortunate for us.”
Newcastle’s point ensured them a top-six finish and they remain on course for Champions League football next season with back-to-back home games against Brighton and Leicester to come before a last-day visit to Chelsea.
Magpies boss Eddie Howe said: “We can wait a few more days if we achieve it. It is the toughest league in the world and we knew how difficult it would be today.”
Nerves frayed on and off the pitch in a highly-charged clash at Elland Road. Firpo was sent off in the closing stages after his lunge on Anthony Gordon earned him a second yellow card.
And before the subsequent free-kick was taken a Leeds fan leapt from the crowd to confront Howe before being dragged clear by match stewards.
“I’m struggling to make sense of it all,” Howe added. “We hadn’t created clear-cut chances. I thought we played well at times without hitting our best form and we were rushed around the box.”
Leeds issued a statement shortly after the match to confirm the fan who confronted Howe had been arrested and issued with a lifetime ban.
West Yorkshire Police added in a statement on Sunday: “Police have charged a man with assault and entering the field of play following an incident at Elland Road football stadium during the Leeds United versus Newcastle United football match yesterday. The man has been bailed to appear before magistrates on July 21.”
The P.H.A.S.E 1 Academy is set to commence try-outs for Jamaican men’s and women’s tour teams on today, Sunday, May 14, from 12 pm-3 pm and 3 pm-6 pm respectively, at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
The try-outs are open to all aspiring basketball players seeking to take their game to the next level and pave a path towards professional basketball careers.
The women will be participating in the upcoming H.E.R. Time is Now Pro Tour and the Men in the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League (E1CBL) Men’s Pro Showcase. Both events with be held on August 1-6 at Montego Bay Community College in St. James.
This extraordinary opportunity serves as a gateway to success by offering participants the ability to compete against other local talents in an effort secure professional contracts with E1CBL teams for the upcoming fall season.
"We believe in the power of basketball to transform lives and provide a pathway to success," said Dave Black, director at P.H.A.S.E. 1 Academy, while expressing the team's vision for the tryouts.
"P.H.A.S.E. 1 Academy is committed to nurturing talent and providing young players with the opportunity to develop their skills, compete against other basketball talent and potentially secure professional contracts. This is an exciting moment for Jamaican basketball, and we can't wait to witness the remarkable talent that will emerge from these try-outs.
The E1CBL is dedicated to nurturing talent and providing a platform for aspiring male and female basketball players to play professionally on a global stage. With a robust travel schedule that spans from June to October this year, chosen players will have the unique opportunity to go head-to-head with top-tier local and international opponents, gaining invaluable experience and exposure in the process.
The tryouts will be overseen by a panel of seasoned coaching staff with extensive experience in the basketball world. Participants are encouraged to bring their A-game, showcase their talent, athleticism, and teamwork to impress the panel. Registration for the try-outs is will be onsite at GC Foster College. Interested players are encouraged to arrive early to secure their spots, as availability is limited.
Participants may also contact Wayne Dawkins at (876)-289-3912 for more information.
Christian Eriksen was pleased by the way Manchester United dealt with the “extra pressure” and bounced back from the back-to-back defeats that jeopardised their top-four ambitions.
This has been a promising first season under Erik ten Hag, who has won the Carabao Cup and taken the Red Devils to June’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
United have also improved markedly on last year’s Premier League performances and have long looked set to secure a return to Champions League football.
Back-to-back defeats at Brighton and West Ham allowed Liverpool to close the gap, but Ten Hag’s men got back to winning ways by triumphing 2-0 against Wolves on Saturday afternoon.
“Of course, when you lose two games the extra pressure is on,” midfielder Eriksen said.
“But we have shown the character and the quality to be where we are.
“We’re just going to focus on us. For us, it has to be three wins in the last three games.”
United travel to Bournemouth next weekend, before finishing the league campaign with home matches against Chelsea and Fulham.
Ten Hag’s men have won 25 matches at Old Trafford in all competitions and could match the club record 27 home triumphs in a single campaign.
“It’s definitely something that we need to first of all finish the season strong with a perfect home record,” Eriksen told MUTV.
“But, in the end, of course, for next season we need to be as good at home, but also away and then it’s going to be a fun season.
“We know where we can pick up extra points because at home at the moment we’re feeling very, very secure.”
United never looked in danger against Wolves, with Anthony Martial finally opening the scoring from a smart Antony pass.
It looked to be the winning goal until Alejandro Garnacho struck in stoppage time as the substitute returned from a two-month injury lay-off with a bang.
“It’s very good (to have him back),” Eriksen said of the teenager.
“You can see the quality he will bring back and the confidence of how he’s playing.
“I’m pleased for him. To be out for a while and then come back and score, it’s the perfect return.”
Wolves failed to muster a shot on target at Old Trafford and are now looking to end the season on a high as Julen Lopetegui’s men round things off at home to Everton and at Arsenal.
Skipper Ruben Neves said: “We’re going game by game. We want to have as many points as we can in the Premier League. That’s our main goal.
“We’re playing at Old Trafford which is big motivation.
“It doesn’t matter the table, it doesn’t matter the points and just playing here is fantastic for us as players, it’s a dream to play in these kinds of pitches, so we just want to get as many points as we can until the end of the season.
“We have two games to go and next week is our last game at home so we will do everything to get the three points with the atmosphere being fantastic at home.
“Our fans in here today were fantastic again, so we will try to get as many points as we can for them as well.”
The Leeds fan who confronted Newcastle manager Eddie Howe late in Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw has been charged with assault by West Yorkshire Police.
Leeds have banned the supporter for life after he climbed out of the stands at Elland Road and entered the technical area where the altercation with Howe took place, before he was quickly led away.
West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that the man has been charged with assault and will appear before magistrates in July.
A statement from the force read: “Police have charged a man with assault and entering the field of play following an incident at Elland Road football stadium during the Leeds United versus Newcastle United football match yesterday.
“The man has been bailed to appear before magistrates on 21 July.”
While Howe said he was unhurt during the incident, he views it as a wake-up call for the game.
“I actually can’t remember whether he pushed me or not, I’ve got no idea. It’s such a strange thing because you’re concentrating on the game and you don’t expect it to happen,” Howe said.
“He confronted me, said something that I can’t repeat and was then led away. I’m OK.
“I don’t know if I had time to be fearful because it was over in a flash but it certainly makes you think ‘what if?’.
“No one should have to face that, playing a sport we love and trying to entertain the country, no one should feel like their own personal safety is violated. It is something for us to reflect on.”
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes believes his players are ready to home in on preserving their Premiership status.
Saturday’s 2-0 win over Livingston at Rugby Park lifted Kilmarnock out of the relegation zone and maintained their impressive form on their own pitch.
They have collected 29 of their 34 points so far this season from home fixtures. With two of their three remaining games at Rugby Park, starting against St Johnstone next Saturday, their fate is firmly in their own hands.
“The confidence we feel at home is clear to see,” said McInnes. “We have now beaten every team in the league apart from the Old Firm at Rugby Park this season.
“We now have to focus on the next two home games. We don’t want to play the situation, we want to play the games.”
After a nervy first half, Kilmarnock took the lead through Kyle Vassell’s 48th-minute strike before Danny Armstrong’s penalty sealed the points.
“If I get a 90-minute performance of what we produced in the second half against Livingston, we’ll be fine,” added McInnes. “I’m pretty sure of that. But a 90-minute performance of the first half won’t get the job done.
“In the first half, we were too pumped up and rushed everything. Half-time couldn’t come quickly enough.
“I didn’t think we were terrible, we still had the best chance of the first half. But there were poor decisions and sloppy clearances, we looked agitated.
“We had a good chat at half-time – no ranting or raving, just a reminder that we are better than we were showing.
“The players deserve all the credit. Knowing how much is at stake, they dealt with it in the second half. I’m sure they will deal with it going forward and it’s important we take that into the remaining games.”
Livingston manager David Martindale has urged his players to get back to basics after a fifth defeat in the last six games saw them slip to eighth place in the table.
“Right now, there are certain individuals within the group who are not doing their jobs properly,” said Martindale.
“The foundations of Livingston are built on people doing the basics right. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s my job to find the solution and I will find the solution. I will take that on the chin.
“There is an element within the group with boys who are not going to be here next season for different reasons and they know they are safe in terms of relegation.
“But in the last two or three games, the opposition have shown more desire to do the basics of football better than we are doing.”
Monty Williams has enjoyed a good run of success as coach of the Phoenix Suns but his inability to lead the team to a championship has cost him his job.
The Suns fired Williams on Saturday, two days after they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
"I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year," Williams said following the loss.
"That’s something that I pride myself on and it just didn’t happen. That’s something I have to take a deep look at, everything I’m doing."
Williams just completed his fourth season as Phoenix’s coach, finishing his tenure with a 194-115 record, including a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals, which the Suns lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
He was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2022 after guiding the Suns to a league-best 64-18 record.
A second straight blowout loss at home in an elimination game was likely the biggest factor in Phoenix’s decision.
Last season, the Suns lost 123-90 to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the conference finals and were routed by the Nuggets 125-100 in Game 6 again on Thursday. Phoenix trailed by 30 at the half in both games.
The Suns join the Toronto Raptors and Bucks as teams currently without head coaches. Toronto fired Nick Nurse after he won the 2019 NBA title and Milwaukee fired Mike Budenholzer, the coach who beat the Suns in the 2021 finals.
Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith felt referee David Dickinson got three major decisions wrong in his side’s 2-2 draw with St Mirren.
The 10-man Jambos earned an unlikely point when second-half goals from Josh Ginnelly and a Lawrence Shankland penalty deep into added time cancelled out first-half strikes from Joe Shaughnessy and Ryan Strain.
Naismith praised his players for battling back to salvage something from the match but felt their cause had not been helped by the match officials.
He disputed the red card shown to Peter Haring midway through the second half and the free-kick won by St Mirren that led to their second goal, while he also felt that Haring should have had a penalty early in the second period.
Naismith said: “For me it is three decisions (the referee got wrong). At the red card, VAR is involved in that as well, but I personally disagreed with it.
“I thought it was a foul to stop the game from a counter-attack. It was right in front of me, I didn’t think it was aggressive or even the speed I don’t think is excessive.
“The foul for the second (St Mirren) goal, I don’t agree with. I’m fortunate enough to have seen it again. Hilly (James Hill) just goes and wins the ball but yet we get given a foul against us and it cost us.
“I think we could also have had a penalty. This is our footage but I can see a clear pull on Peter Haring who is going into the area where the ball is going. I said last week I was frustrated (with the match officials) and I’m frustrated again this week because of a lack of consistency.
“The ref was really good at the end of the game, allowing me to speak to him and have a discussion and a conversation about it which is fine. I get his point of view and his team’s point of view but it doesn’t help us (in the chase) for three points.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Robinson felt that St Mirren’s progress this season could be measured by the fact they were disappointed at only drawing with Hearts.
The result severely dents the Paisley side’s chances of qualifying for Europe but Robinson felt a sense of perspective was needed.
He said: “It feels like a defeat but when we’re disappointed with a point against Hearts it tells you how far St Mirren have come. The circumstances with the game practically done make it hard to take but I’ll get round the boys and we’ll speak to them. There are lessons to be learned for everyone, but ultimately we should’ve seen the game out.”
Captain James Ward-Prowse has “full confidence” Southampton can make a swift return to the Premier League following the pain of relegation.
Saints’ fate was sealed by Saturday’s listless 2-0 defeat to Fulham – a club-record 24th league loss in a single season.
England midfielder Ward-Prowse has been with Southampton since the age of eight but is already being linked with a summer move away from St Mary’s.
The 28-year-old, who insists he is “not thinking too far ahead” regarding his own future, is optimistic Saints will bounce back from surrendering the top-flight status they have held since 2012.
“(I’ve) full confidence, I think the club’s been there and done it,” he told Southampton’s website.
“The squad that we’ve got now is incredibly young and they’ve got a lot to learn.
“They will have learnt a lot from this year and next year I’m sure the club will be doing everything they can to be back in the Premier League.”
Southampton were precariously placed for much of a miserable campaign, having continually occupied the bottom three since early November.
Second-half goals from Fulham pair Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic condemned Ruben Selles’ side to the drop with two games to spare.
Spaniard Selles was the team’s third manager this term following the sackings of Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones.
Ward-Prowse concedes warning signs were present for a long time and admits Saints ultimately went down to the Sky Bet Championship with a whimper.
“It’s something, in all honesty, we’ve been fearing for a little while,” he said.
“Over the last couple of years we’ve not been performing at the level I believe we should be and I think this season’s caught up with us.
“There’s a way to lose games, there’s a way to maybe fail in sport and I think the way we’ve done it this year, that’s the disappointing way.
“I don’t feel we’ve really gone down with a fight and given everything we can.
“I feel for the fans because they don’t deserve to see what we’ve produced this season and that’s the sad thing.”
Victory for Fulham was a club-record 15th in a Premier League season to tighten their grip on a top-half spot.
Winger Harry Wilson, who was involved in each of the Cottagers’ goals on the south coast, hopes to increase the impressive points haul of 51 going into a home game against Crystal Palace and a trip to Manchester United.
“It’s not something I was aware of but it’s something we’ve earned throughout the season,” he said of the record.
“We’ve shown that we can win different ways, so to get 15 wins and the record is great.
“We’ll definitely enjoy them (the final two games) but we also know there’s a lot to play for and we want to make sure we get two wins.”
Substitute Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang by heading home seven minutes after replacing fellow goalscorer Vinicius.
The Serbia striker was punished for grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh during his side’s 3-1 FA Cup loss at Old Trafford in March.
Wilson is already eyeing revenge against United on the final weekend following the heated cup exit in which Mitrovic, Willian and manager Marco Silva were sent off.
“We were really good for 70 minutes and we all know what happened,” he said of that game.
“We feel like we kind of owe them one in a way because we felt on that day we maybe should have left with something.”
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