Maja thrilled after brace against Everton

Josh Maja is pleased to have scored a brace on his first start for Fulham as the Cottagers boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a deserved 2-0 at Everton.

The visitors were by far the better side in the first half but were left frustrated as they missed several opportunities to score, with Bobby Decordova-Reid hitting the post and Harrison Reed driving over.

But their dominance was rewarded early in the second half when Maja – a deadline day signing on loan from Bordeaux – slid in to turn home Ola Aina’s cross from close range.

Maja then capped a dream full debut with a second, tapping in after Decordova-Reid’s shot had hit the woodwork.

Reacting to his brace Maja said, “It is a big one, we came into the game wanting to win it and not had the results we wanted. We are very happy with the win.

“We took our chances when it came and put in another good performance again, we want to continue like this. For the whole 90 minutes the guys worked hard and stuck to the gameplan.

“This is a night I have been dreaming about for a long time, especially last night and I had a feeling it was coming and pleased it became a reality.

“Wins gives the fans and players confidence and we want to take it into the next game.”

There is still plenty of work to do for Fulham to escape the drop, with this victory cutting the deficit to safety to seven points, but it will significantly boost their hopes they can fight their way out of trouble.

Defeat for Everton, meanwhile, means they remain seventh on 37 points.