LFL: BRENTFORD

This was a below-par and at times sloppy performance from us and Brentford deserved their win. This was a clear example of how games can change completely within a few minutes as following Le Fee’s penalty miss we went behind and instead of being level, the game was looking beyond us. We’re ninth in the league as we take a break for the FA Cup and it’s been a fantastic season so I’m not going to moan.

BEFORE

The games are coming thick and fast so I hope our players aren't feeling the pace too much. In the first-half at Spurs they looked decidedly below par but of course we were a changed side in the second period. Perhaps we'll see a bit of juggling with the squad and hopefully Isidor will be back in contention and Ballard able to start. Brentford have a slightly better goal-difference than us and their recent form has been better than ours but we know that we've beaten them once already. They had a good 4-2 away win at Everton on Sunday with Thiago getting a hat-trick. I rarely get my hands on an away ticket these days so I'll be watching the game with a load of fellow members of the London Branch at a popular meeting place of ours. Brentford are a quality side and I'd be happy with another away draw. Match prediction: 1-1.

I arrived at the bar around 7.00 and on checking the team-news I saw that there were two changes in the starting line-up with Ballard and Rigg starting in place of Cirkin and Mayenda, both of whom were on the bench. Isidor hadn’t made the squad. Thiago was upfront for Brentford again and would hopefully be well-marshalled. Jordan Henderson was among their subs. There were only five other fans in the bar; maybe the cold night had kept others at home. Before the game started there was a minute’s applause for those connected with Brentford who’d died in 2025 and both sets of fans joined in. Brentford play in red and white stripes of course so I could see myself being momentarily confused.

THE GAME

Roefs had to be on his toes after only thirty seconds, tipping over for a corner. He got his hands on the ball, though, when the corner came over. Right on four minutes the Dutchman had to dive low to grab a low shot so Brentford clearly meant business. Following our first attack in the eighth we were awarded a free-kick just outside their box. Xhaka hit it low and Kelleher in goal got behind it without any bother. Brentford’s long-throws were going to be a problem for us as they were as good as a corner. Kelleher was all at sea following a long-throw of our own but a free-kick to Brentford ended the pressure. Our fans were making plenty of noise, as usual. Around the twentieth we lived dangerously giving the ball away twice but thankfully we blocked the first resulting attempt and the shot from the second went wide. It had been a decent first quarter from us but Brentford had definitely looked the more dangerous and we hadn’t helped ourselves by the aforementioned slips.

In the twenty-sixth Rigg conceded a dangerous free-kick just near the right edge of our penalty-area but thankfully it came to nothing. Around the half-hour mark Brentford took the lead and unsurprisingly it was Thiago who got it. A long ball found him running into an alarming amount of space between our back-line and he went round Roefs before slotting it home. Shortly afterwards Hume conceded a corner but Yarmoliuk headed it out and Brentford cooly played their way out of trouble. We were soon back again and a shot from Brobbey was deflected out for a corner. This resulted in us pummelling their goal but nothing went our way. It was our most heartwarming spell so far. Brentford won another corner with five minutes to the break and it immediately led to another on the same side, which Roefs grabbed under pressure. Thiago was the first player to be booked, for a foul on Alderete. Hume soon joined him in referee Matt Donohue’s book for a blatant pull on Schade’s shirt. The free-kick touched the bar as it went over. There was only a minute of added-time, which was unusual, and the half ended 1-0. We definitely needed to up our game in the second period and given what we’ve managed so far this season, I thought that we would. 

We put pressure on right from the kick-off and won a throw on our left. Brentford won a corner a couple of minutes later and though Roefs initially punched it away, it took a while for us to finally get it clear. Brentford were certainly looking more likely to score and I wondered when Mundle and/or Mayenda would be coming on. Le Fee was set up for a good crack but his shot went well over. Mayenda and Mundle did indeed enter the fray in the fifty-second, replacing Rigg and Adingra. Very soon Alderete headed not far wide from a free-kick and I felt we were going to get one back soon. We then won a corner and play was eventually stopped for a facial injury to Le Fee. In the fifty-eighth Brobbey was felled in the box by Ajer and we were awarded a penalty. Instead of making his third successful conversion of the season, Le Fee hit the ball weakly straight up into Kelleher’s hands. It was one of the strangest pennas I’ve ever seen. Anyway, there was over half an hour to go and I still reckoned we’d nick a goal. In the sixty-fifth it was Brentford who got another goal and it was set up by a terrible mis-pass deep in our own half. After a shot had bounced off our bar the ball came over again from our left and Thiago headed it home. 

We conceded another corner in the seventieth as Brentford were pressing for number three. Tempers were getting frayed and the ref had to dish out a good talking-to before it could be taken. It promptly led to yet another corner and that resulted in Brentford’s third as Yarmoliuk hit a low shot that gave Roefs no chance. Damsgaard hit our right post after Alderete lost the ball but a fourth goal for them was looking quite possible. Thiago went down clutching his knee as he went for his hat-trick but was eventually able to continue. Meanwhile we made a double-switch, replacing Ballard and Geetruida with Cirkin and Neil with eleven minutes on the clock. O’Nien also made an appearance shortly afterwards when he came on for Alderete. I could still hear our fans singing. Six minutes of added-time were announced and Nelson went close to getting number four but that was about it and it ended in a 3-0 defeat.