Barnsley suffered a 2-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The hosts took the lead at the end of an even first half after Angus MacDonald was judged to have hauled down down Kevin McDonald in the box and Chris Martin scored the penalty.

Scott Malone added an impressive second just after the break then only some poor finishing and good saves by Adam Davies prevented the hosts winning by a lot more as they dominated the second half.

Fulham were one of two clubs to overtake Barnsley who dropped down from eighth to tenth in the table, while the gap between them and the top six increased from four points to seven. 

Barnsley top-scorer Sam Winnall, whose move to Sheffield Wednesday was confirmed the previous day, was replaced in the starting line-up by Ryan Williams with the former Fulham man operating just behind lone striker Tom Bradshaw in a 4-5-1 formation.

The noisy Reds fans regularly sang the name of captain Conor Hourihane who has also been linked with a move away. 

Fulham began on top and should have taken the lead in the fifth minute when Martin was played clean through on goal only for Davies to block the one-on-one effort.

But Barnsley seemed to settle down after being dominated in the first ten minutes and registered their first shot midway through the first half when Adam Hammill hit a 25-yard effort straight at former Reds goalkeeper David Button following a good run.

Fulham's Sone Aluko and Lucas Piazon – who both netted at Oakwell in the Cottagers' 4-2 October victory – each fired over when well-placed on the edge of the box.

Hammill almost gave Barnsley the lead with a shot from the right side of the penalty area which looked destined for the top left corner but hit the crossbar. Bradshaw then met a Hourihane free-kick eight yards out but headed it wide.

Fulham went ahead against the run of play after MacDonald and McDonald tangled as a corner was coming in. Referee Andy Davies gave a penalty and Adam Davies was sent the wrong way by Martin.

Malone, who scored and assisted two other goals in the last meeting of the sides, doubled the lead with an excellent low volley ten minutes into the second half.

The hosts were well on top with Martin twice flicking crosses into the side netting, Aluko having a shot blocked from close range and Stefan Johansen firing wide after charging into the box from the left. Norwegian international Johansen came close again soon after as he shot just wide from the edge of the box.

Heckingbottom made a triple change on 70 minutes with Ryan Kent, Adam Armstrong and George Moncur replacing Hammill, Bradshaw and Williams. But Fulham continued to dominate.

Martin forced Davies into two more saves, the second a very good one from close range after the striker had turned Roberts in the box, then Aidy White cleared off the line after Piazon beat the goalkeeper.

Davies then brilliantly tipped over a shot from Tom Cairney who had made an excellent run after White lost the ball near halfway.

Barnsley's only shot of the second half was a deflected Hourihane effort which Button comfortably caught. The Reds argued it had hit a Fulham hand on the way through while they also appealed for a penalty when Armstrong was shoulder barged by Tomas Kalas.

But the visitors were outplayed in the second half and will be relieved it was not a heavier defeat.