THIRD SEASON: New dawn?
Brentford 1, Manchester United 1; 30.03.2024
A new dawn has broken, has it not? Okay, Tony Blair said it first after the Labour Party’s general election victory of 1997, but It can be argued that Brentford’s magnificent performance against Man United was equally for the record books, and that despite only one goal being scored by the home side and one point – precious that it was – rewarded for their evening’s work, those who were present will never forget the occasion.
The Bees quite simply dismantled a famous side whose last game had been a 4-3 Cup win over Liverpool. Statistics in this game, collated by the BBC, revealed such as 31 shots for Brentford against 11 for MU. And 84 touches in the opposition box to a mere 15 for United? What about corners, do I hear you ask? Fourteen racked up by the Bees, four by the visitors – if this had been a stats contest in a boxing ring, the referee would have stopped the fight.
The Gtech Stadium, scene of bitter disappointment all too frequently of late following a collection of first-team injuries, saw hundreds of supporters linger post-match to applaud the players on their lap of honour.
Every one of the starting side and substitutes deserved the accolade, but it would be wrong not to mention one who was – pardon me, if this is fanciful – more equal than others. Ivan Toney, of course, captain in the continued absence of regular skipper Christian Nørgaard, was a commanding presence in every way other than scoring a goal, a patent lapse that irritated him towards the end.
Following the new lightshow for evening games – very nice, thank you – United started as they presumably planned to continue, with a shot that went, wide, although probably not as wide as those in the Bees’ technical area would have wished.
Then Toney returned the favour before forcing a cluster of consecutive Brentford corners, six when last counted, and Yoane Wissa provided a gem of a pass that Toney failed to convert. Like a frisky dog, causing the visiting defence no end of problems, Wissa was less successful when trying to replicate his athletic goal of recent memory, sending the ball to somewhere in the crowd.
In the meantime, United were trying to knit together enough passes to penetrate the Bees’ defence and then despatched a free kick from only just inside their own half that Mark Flekken dealt with capably. But as the first half drew to a close, it was extraordinary that Brentford had not managed to find the net, rather than the surrounding area and four times the woodwork that unkindly did not allow the ball to rebound in the right direction.
United perked up somewhat in the second period, but not a lot. Certainly nothing to worry Flekken unduly, other than several opportunities that came to nothing when a well-placed striker sent the ball in the direction of Wissa’s earlier effort.
Wissa was not deterred, although really should have been when charging into the penalty area and seeking that elusive goal when Toney, as solitary as Greta (‘I want to be alone’) Garbo, was better placed and as ravenous as a pack of wolves.
No slight on Wissa, but the Brentford supporters welcomed Bryan Mbeumo, substituted in place of Wissa to resume his double act with Toney (one of those bullets that hit the crossbar was Bryan’s). And there was momentary joy in the crowd when Toney did score, but the polite expectation of the captain and his team as they awaited the VAR verdict signified, correctly, that he had strayed offside.
The last frantic nine added minutes contained stuff movies are made of. First, Mason Mount, returning from a period of injury, showed his team-mates how it should be done by scoring a fine goal about which Flekken could do nothing. Dismay all round, but then, three minutes later, Toney ‘s pinpoint cross into the box found Christian Ajer, who seized a gap in front of him to snatch the equaliser.
What’s the way forward? I asked my mate Charlie. Surely Thomas Frank will have a plan for everything to work out?
‘Heads up and keep going? suggested Charlie. ‘Is it not?’
Brentford: Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev (substitute Maupay 96m), Jensen, Janelt, Yarmoliuk (sub Damsgaard 71), Lewis-Potter (sub Ghoddos 87); Toney, Wissa (sub Mbeumo 71).
Manchester United: Onana; Dalot, Lindelöf (sub Martinez 69), Varane (Maguire 45), Wan-Bissaka; McTominay, Mainoo (sub Casemiro 59); Garnacho (sub Anthony 59), Bruno Fernandes, Rashford (sub Mount 80); Hoøjlund.
THIRD SEASON: Clean sheets times two
Brentford 0, Brighton & Hove Albion 0; 03.04.2024
At the end of a gruelling match, when neither side managed to establish superiority, Thomas Frank was to observe, wisely, ‘If you can’t win, don’t lose.’ Those fans travelling from the Sussex coast in the hope of a positive result for their favourites appeared not to agree with the home chief coach’s sanguine view. Excitement was high on their menu and go hang the cost, which was not exactly dish of the day for the Bees. ‘Boring, Brentford’ chanted the visiting fans, and in case anyone missed the subsequent message, they continued to broadcast their mantra: ‘Boring Brentford’.
Those more interested in obtaining a point or several in order to obtain Premier League points and a more respectable position in the League table took no notice.
The travelling Brightonians – known also as Seagulls to their loyal following – were especially keen on obtaining a three-point victory, especially as the six-match absence of their star striker, João Pedro, had had been responsible for goals being rarer than picking the winner on the Derby.
Sad for them, but Brazilian Pedro failed to deliver on the goal-glut promise the supporters hoped for. Neither did Ivan Toney or any of his team-mates come to that. But ‘boring’? What the two needy sides delivered was some cerebral football, often thoughtful but never snooze-worthy humdrum fare unfit for the prime competitive standard expected across the football rainbow.
These adversaries were both in need of points, Brighton having lost five away games in a row in all areas of the game and Brentford failing to win since early February when beating Wolverhampton Wanderers, a revenge result of sorts following a draw and two defeats in a recent close cluster of games.
Early exchanges suggested that goal famines were not to be the order of the day and when Yoane Wissa despatched a fierce shot that whizzed into Bart Verbruggen’s goal-net – on the wrong side, it transpired – and, later, the prodigal Pedro was denied only by Mark Flekken’s remarkable save, the famine was tottering. And tottering it remained, although Brighton’s enthusiasm in demanding a penalty when Wissa appeared to shove Seagull’s captain Lewis Dunk to the ground seemed to be conclusive to the VAR. However, referee Andrew Madley earned points – well, someone had to! – by establishing that Wissa had himself been fouled and no further action was necessary. Good call, Mr Madley.
The second half was one of missed chances, with Verbruggen and Flekken mopping up anything that didn’t find its way into the stand behinds the goals or taking off towards for the stars. Even Toney was somewhat out of sorts, failing to capitalise on being reunited with his partner in the old firm, Bryan Mbeumo, when he replaced Wissa towards the end (no criticism, Yoane, you played well).
To suggest the most interesting event of the the latter stages of the game was Toney deciding to change his boots on the side of the pitch would be flippant, so I won’t do so. Perfectly legit, anyway, and notable in that it didn’t change his luck.
So six matches left of the season come the final whistle, with several first-team absentees still on the injury list, which means the going might be tough – dangerously so unless the Bees can get back to winning ways.
One point from a game isn’t enough, I observed to my mate Charlie as we trooped from the Gtech Stadium. Still, let’s remember Thomas’s view.
‘I have one of my own,’ said a dour Charlie. ‘When we can’t win, don’t play!’
Brentford: Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev (substitute Maupay 96m), Janelt, Jensen (sub Onyeka 86), Yarmoliuk (sub Damsgaard 64); Lewis-Potter (sub Reguilón 73), Wissa (sub Mbeumo 73), Toney.
Brighton and Home Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman (substitute Moderat 86 minutes), van Hecke, Dunk, does Santos de Paulo; Groß, Baleba; Buonanotte (sub Welbeck 73), Lallana (sub Enciso 64), Adingra (sub Enciso 64); João Pedro.
THIRD SEASON: Win at last
Brentford 2, Sheffield United 0; 13.04.24
At last! Having put together a small but respectable list of drawn games, Brentford managed to collect three points from a desperate Sheffield United, who finished the afternoon at the GTECH Stadium even more firmly cemented to the foot of the Premier League.
Bad luck, United. But the Bees’ success catapulted them into fourteenth in the table. Okay, they had slipped to fifteenth by the end of the weekend, but this was a cataclysmic event for an injury-shredded squad whose recent poor form had begun to convince all but the most diehard fans that relegation was either just around the corner or, maybe the corner after that.
It is by no means a given that Brentford can avoid the drop, but one could almost see the tension evaporate as two second-half goals put them five and six points clear of Everton and Nottingham Forest, two strugglers handicapped by FA fines for misdemeanours.
Against United, despite the home ground choir in fine voice, Brentford failed to dominate play in the first period. Yoane Wissa, running like a racehorse, was a danger to United’s disciplined defence, Bryan Mbeumo caused occasional havoc on the right, and Neal Maupay was… well, Neal Maupay, missing chances, including one when clear with only the keeper to beat he clipped the ball wide.
With time not exactly standing still, one fully expected Ivan Toney to be propelled from the substitutes’ bench to the pitch after the break, which proves that fully expectations are not what they were. Toney remained on the bench, probably still troubled with a rogue muscle. Then things looked up when Zanka had the ball into the net; then things looked down again, correctly, when his effort was nullified for offside.
The rotten luck continued when a Mbeumo free kick was converted by Damsgaard but, after a longish delay, ruled out because Nathan Collins was judged to have committed a foul.
But, hey, things looked up again itself just after the hour when Damsgaard, gaining in authority every minute, let loose a shot that goalkeeper Ivo Grbić seemed to have covered, but was sharply diverted by Oliver Arblaster to rack up an own goal.
Now the Bees were so near to those illusive three points that the fans as well as the eleven men on the field were tense. The opposition players probably weren’t at their calmest, either.
Keane Lewis-Potter arrived from the bench and promptly turned the United defence inside-out to send a shot towards a tantalising gap patently beyond Grbić’s reach. No, it wasn’t – Grbić’s save palmed it away for a corner.
Referee Sam Barrott allocated seven minutes extra for sundry stoppages. What a quandary for the players: could they score again or concede in trying? Mark Flekken galloped into the Sheffield half and thumped a long ball that wasn’t going anywhere with Bees written on it.
And then with four minutes, give or take a heartbeat, back-from-injury Kevin Schade – remember him? – bustled into the penalty area to send a pin-point cross to the feet of Frank Onyeka. Having been off the bench for all of a minute, Onyeka shot low and accurately. Such drama is what football dreams are made of.
It is a Brentford tradition that good fortune is greeted with celebration. Thomas Frank and his squad embarked on a triumphal tour of the pitch. The fans in the stand were dancing; so were some of the team. Back at the dugouts, owner Matthew Benham appeared on the touchline to hug Frank. ‘This has definitely been the most challenging season’, he was to tell the BBC.
Five games to go, I reminded my mate Charlie. Not sure I can stand it!
‘Cissie,’ said Charlie.
Brentford: Flekken; Roerslev, Zanka, Collins, Reguilón; Damsgaard (substitute Yarlmoliuk 88), Janelt, Jensen (sub Onyeka 90+1); Mbeumo (sub Schade 90), (Maupay (sub Lewis-Potter 79), Wissa (sub Pinnock 90).
Sheffield United: Grbić; Holgate (sub Ben Slimane 90+1), Ahmedhodzic, Trusty; Bogle (sub Archer 76), Hamer, Arblaster, Osborn, Larouci (sub McAtee 57); Brereton, McBurnie.
THIRD SEASON: Drawing breath
Aston Villa 3, Brentford 3; 06.04.2024
Thrilling was the word for the Brentford’s’ performance as they clawed their way back from two goals’ down to retaliate with three in a blistering nine minutes. Ex-Bee Ollie Watkins may have spoiled the party and any thoughts of travelling fans at Villa Park deterred from singing ‘Happy days are here again’, but it was another point well-earned on the road to Premier League safety.
What’s more, Ivan Toney was missing from Thomas Frank’s starting line-up with a niggling injury, not appearing until the 81st minute – too late to contribute a winning score.
Brentford’s makeshift team frightened the life out of Villa, but not before 38 minutes when ex-Bee Ollie Watkins beat keeper Mark Flekken with a header than squeezed just over the line and then, straight after the second-half restart, Morgan Rogers’s fine shot found the corner of the net.
From then on, to Villa’s frustration, Brentford took command. The ever-improving Mikkel Damsgaard saw his dangerous cross deflected by Zanka’s boot after 59 minutes, followed two minutes later by a Bryan Mbeumo volley to put the Bees on terms.
Then, silencing the home crowd, Yoane Wissa seized upon Sergio Reguilón’s low cross to put the Bees within 23 minutes of travelling home with three points in the boot of their coach.
Twenty minutes from normal time, Watkins spoiled the dream with customary style but appeared furious with those teammates who allowed the visitors to go home with even a point.
Villas’ hopes of a Premier League top four place, and entry to European football next season, are still feasible, but this and further progress in the Europa Conference have made just a little more difficult by Brentford’s quality performance. Ollie knows that – and he knows the Bees could have won it too!
Brentford: Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev, Jensen (substitute Onyeka 86m), Janelt, Damsgaard (sub Toney 81), Reguilón (sub Lewis-Potter 76); Mbeumo (sub Maupay 86), Wissa (sub Yarmoliuk 81).
THIRD SEASON: Out of the mire
Luton 1, Brentford 5; 20.04.2024
There’s safety in numbers, or so it is said, in which case the number is five. There we were at Kenilworth Park, still worrying that a poor Bees’ performance and a desperate Luton side doing its best to capture three points in their battle against relegation would sink Brentford back into trouble. But with a mighty leap, the Bees bounded almost out of sight of the relegation zone with a flurry of scoring.
The result: instead of bemoaning the Bees’ poor record from the beginning of February – half-a-dozen defeats and a draw – supporters could lock those in a cupboard and instead boast five without defeat since 21 March. Okay, three of these were draws, but the opposition was Manchester United, Brighton and Aston Villa, competent opponents all.
The best was yet to come, starting with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United, quite likely contributing on their way to relegation, and then the dismantling of Luton, a gutsy outfit but also possibly slip-sliding towards the Championship.
The 5-1 drubbing meant the Bees have remained unbeaten in five Premier League games, their longest run without being beaten this season. What’s not to like?
With Ivan Toney not featuring twice in the starting line-up and once not at all – what’s up, Thomas Frank? – the slow return to fitness by such first-teamers as Ethan Pinnock, Kevin Schade and captain Christian Nørgaard gave the team greater muscle as time passed by.
Plus, the burgeoning understanding between Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, whiuch made one wonder just how slick a team this might be when the other injury-passengers get match-fit.
As it was, Mbeumo saw his early goal-bound drive cannon from Thomas Kaminski’s crossbar to set the pattern of the action, with Brentford in control. Keane Lewis-Potter drew a fine save from the goalkeeper before, after 24 minutes, Wissa’s first-touch propelled Mbeumo’s immaculate cross home.
The same pair combined in the minute added to the first half when Mbeumo’s cross caused considerable consternation in the penalty area before Wissa scored from close in.
The second period saw more of the one-way traffic. Ethan Pinnock, back from injury, made his presence felt with one of his trademark headers after 62 minutes and just two minutes later Lewis-Potter arrived to head powerfully beyond Kaminiski, making up for the keeper robbing him early on.
Kevin Schade added the fifth before a defensive error by Vitaly Janelt enabled Luke Berry to run clear of Mark Flekken and claim not much of a consolation goal but one that doubtless irritated the Bees’ keeper like mad for spoiling his clean sheet.
Statistically, however, it was the visitors’ day, and with four games left to play, and confidence flowing from the entire squad, it would be only the most downbeat defeatists who would bet on Brentford’s departure from the Premier League this term.
No wonder owner Matthew Benham was pitch-side to deliver hugs all round for a good day’s work.
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer (substitute Roerslev 76m), Collins, Pinnock, Reguilón; Damsgaard (sub Nørgaard 71), Janelt, Jensen (sub Yarmoliuk; 82); Mbeumo, Wissa (sub Maupay 82), Lewis-Potter (sub Schade 71).
Bill Hagerty
Chairman emeritus, British Journalism Review
Director, London Press Club