Brentford (A) 20/01/24

 

Brentford’s five match winless run came to an end today as Nottingham Forest were narrowly beaten at a sold out Gtech Community Stadium. The Bees taking all three points, climb to 14^th in the Premier League while Forest sit 16^th.

 

Brentford’s hopes were boosted by the return of Ivan Toney after missing the past eight months due to his ban for betting. He captained Thomas Frank’s side today while for the visitors, they had been hit with an injury crisis as well as having six players at AFCON, therefore naming three youngsters on their substitutes bench.

 

The first half opened brilliantly for the Reds after they took the lead within three minutes following a beautiful volley from Danilo. The 21-year old Brazilian calmly controlled the ball with his knee after a failed clearance from Ben Mee before unleashing a stunning strike beyond Mark Flekken.

 

Forest seemed in control, having the majority of possession and keeping Brentford at a distance. This all changed at the 20^th minute mark after Orel Mangala gave away a free kick on the edge of the box, picking up a yellow card in the process. Ivan Toney stepped up to take from a similar position to his previous goal against Forest before slotting the ball round a poorly positioned wall from ‘keeper Matt Turner. However, controversy struck as before taking Toney moved the ball to his right making his angle towards goal easier.

 

No real chances followed in the rest of the first half apart from forward Keane Lewis-Potter hitting the crossbar, then a goal line scramble as Forest tried to clear the ball.

 

Halftime, 1-1.

 

The Bees started the second half brighter, exposing Forest’s defence and causing errors. After breaking down the wide areas yet again, Brentford won a corner following a block from Murillo. The corner was whipped in and turned home from an unmarked Ben Mee. A mixture of poor marking and set-piece management, meant a 2-1 lead for Thomas Franks’s men.

 

Forest did have some chances through Orel Mangala’s efforts before finding an equaliser through an in-form Chris Wood. Callum Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Danilo and crossed in a perfect right-footed cross ready for Wood to head past Flekken. It’s his 8^th goal this season and he may need to continue his scoring form due to Forest’s attack seeming to struggle without Gibbs-White and Elanga.

 

Just three minutes after, hope again for Forest, they were crushed after Neal Maupay superbly touched, twisted and finished beyond Turner into the bottom right corner for Brentford’s third of the evening. Forest complained about a handball and after a VAR check the goal was given and Brentford could celebrate the brilliant finish yet again.

 

Chances continued to come for both teams as Forest pushed for yet another equaliser and came close through a volley from Mangala. 10 minutes of injury team wasn’t enough for Forest as they fell to a 3-2 defeat in their first Premier League game of 2024.

 

Personally, I think defensive errors cost us today especially Brentford’s first goal. However, I do feel VAR should’ve had a chance to intervene on the moving of the ball. I think we missed our key attackers in Gibbs-White and Elanga which reduced our attacking threat but overall our performance wasn’t bad and the team put in a good shift. Many lessons could’ve been learned today and with some of our injured players close to a return hopefully we can kick on and progress into a tough run of fixtures. Bring on Bristol City for a chance in the FA Cup 5^th round!

 

Brentford: Flekken; Collins, Pinnock, Mee; Roerslev (Ajer 90’), Damsgaard (Baptiste 74’), Janelt, Jensen (Yarmolyuk 97’), Lewis-Potter (Dasilva 90’); Maupay (Reguilon 74’), Toney

Forest: Turner; Montiel (Aguilera 86’), Omabamidele, Murillo, Tavares; Mangala, Yates (Williams 62’); Dominguez, Danilo, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Written by Katie Campbell