Brentford bounced back from defeat at Huddersfield and got the pre-Christmas spirits flowing by producing a performance that had the home fans purring once again.
Blackburn Rovers are a very strong side at this level, and they demonstrated why they will be up there challenging for a play-off place in May, but in truth, they looked second best most of the afternoon.
Brentford looked confident from the start, and although the game ebbed and flowed throughout, the Bees deserved to take the lead after a spell of mounting pressure… Rovers were punished for a poor headed clearance when the lurking Jake Bidwell saw his shot touched home by Jonathan Douglas.
Harlee Dean, who will be neck and neck with Jota for the Beesotted Man of the Match poll, was the unlucky man to have got in the way of Gestede’s shot – which deflected past the stranded David Button – a goal that popped the atmosphere just before the break. But as you will hear from Andre Gray on the Beesotted post-match Podcast, Mark Warburton told his players to continue playing their brand of flowing football in the second half and the chances would come… Which they certainly did.
The Bees were not quite at their best, which demonstrates how standards have risen in the last couple of seasons, but they still conjured some real Festive magic for the packed Griffin Park crowd to enjoy – Jota in particular catching the eye with some devastating skill cutting in from the wing. The hugely impressive Spaniard proved a real handful and was central to both second half goals.
The absence of former Bee, Jordan Rhodes, from the starting line-up came as a big relief to the Bees faithful, who were expecting the striker to give Harlee and Craig a torrid afternoon, but it was Andre Gray who emerged from the ninety minutes’ action with the most acclaim. Gray’s battle with Grant Hanley was a fascinating one, with the big Rovers defender resorting to anything and everything to keep the former Luton man at bay… But he failed ultimately.
Gray, who refused to be subdued by some rough treatment, eventually worked a chance for himself thanks to a skilful flick, then an opportunist piece of improvisation after slipping mid-shot… Gray somehow managed to produce a clinical strike to restore the Bees’ lead, which sent Griffin Park potty.
Rovers squandered a wonderful chance to level the match at 2-2… quite how the Bees escaped I’m still unsure… but in the blink of an eye after they’d hit the post, we were up the other end wrapping the game up by scoring the third… Jota capitalising on a ricochet to slot home cooly and to cap a majestic performance.
Both sides continued to create chances, most notably after Rhodes came on to warm applause, and when Douglas delayed his shot and just failed to round the goalie… But the two goal cushion was a fair reflection of how the game panned out.
So, with a little under half the season behind us, and with the Bees in fifth place, just a couple of points off the top, talk back in the boozer naturally continued to to feature the two P words… ‘Premiership’ and ‘Play-offs’.
Is it really a case of ‘heart ruling head’ to suggest that there aren’t six teams better than Warburton’s Bees this season? Certainly not on the evidence that’s there for all to see this campaign.
Dave Lane
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