Brentford marched out of the New Den in the pouring rain on Saturday evening, having recorded a third consecutive Championship win that ensured no soaking could possibly damped the happy mood.
A brace from Andre Gray and a Danny Shitu own goal meant The Bees had the edge in a see-saw match in which Millwall came back from two goals down. They then rattled the post as they attempted to turn the game on its head after looking decidedly out for the count.
But, in truth, the three points went exactly where they should have gone – back to TW8.
Lions’ manager, Ian Holloway, was honest enough to admit exactly that. In fact his post match analysis of Brentford was almost as glowing as that from Mark Warburton. I’ve always had a lot of time for Holloway, and what he achieved with Blackpool was an inspiration for any smaller side.
So when he said; “Fair play to them. I knew how good they were. I knew what they would do to us… ” you have to tip your hat to the fella.
He continued, “Warburton’s three to four years ahead of me in what he needs to do… I’m giving the credit to Mark… They came here and I knew they would pick our pockets.”
And that’s how it was… But it was an artistic theft that the Artful Dodger would have been proud of rather than a thuggish street robbery. And no mistake guvvnor!
Millwall may have worn a camouflaged kit for the day (fair play to the club for the charitable idea). But, in truth, their players were almost invisible until a second goal sparked a reaction. But even then the home side’s recovery was thanks to the long ball and a large chunk of luck – David Button seemingly fluffing under pressure from the bloated Danny Shitu. Then a cracker from Alan Dunne squared the clash.
Before that moment, Brentford had continued where they’d left off at Forest – playing impressive, controlled, quality football that threatened with every flowing attack. Brentford were knocking on the ‘goal door’ well before the opening goal arrived – Andre Gray breaking the deadlock three minutes before the break. He then repeated the trick on 56 minutes – both times producing a clinical finish from great through-balls provided by Pritchard and Judge respectively.
A mad ten minutes then ensued – the Lions roared back – then were savaged by an own goal themselves… Harlee Dean looked to have been close to getting a toe to the ball. But it was undoubtedly the former QPR man’s final touch for the eventual winner.
At that stage it was far from game over. However, both sides had chances to add to their tally and Gray had a hat trick goal chalked off for offside as the match to-ed and fro-ed. But the Bees held out to record another memorable win and capped a fantastic week in style.
Yes, there will be some lessons to be learned from this match. But the character shown in recovering from the Millwall barrage was immense and that’s where the real focus should lie. There were some really standout performances by Toumani and Andre. But once again, what impressed most was the team spirit and clear desire to win… Not to draw… Not to be clever and shut up shop with our noses in front… Not to sit back and put everyone behind the ball… But to attack… Then attack some more.
Yes, the walk back to South Bermondsey station may certainly have been a soggy one… But it’s not often as Bees that you can bask in driving rain, feeling a warm glow from having seen your team excel before learning you’re sitting pretty in the Championship play-off positions.
Happy days my friends, happy days!
Dave Lane
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