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After a couple of weeks off for the international break, valuable time in which to contemplate their position and remedy some of the problems, the Bees ‘minimum requirement’ against Rotherham was to win… Which thankfully they did.

Canos, Woods, Swift and Yennaris were all given starts in what looked like an attack-minded set up by Lee Carsley, and the home fans certainly didn’t have to wait long to see their side go ahead, and to ease the pressures.

Woods had an impressive game, always available and able to find room to pick out a perfectly weighted pass – we’ve bought a ginger gem there – and it was the newcomer’s vision that sparked the opener. Wood fed Yennaris on the right wing before a cross fell to Alan Judge who produced a beaut of a dipping shot that found the top corner. But could the Bees build on that solid start?

The game ebbed and flowed throughout, and it was always clear the Bees would need a second goal to notch the win – Djuracin had one blocked before the break after being teed up by Swift, and there were one of two slick inter-passing moves that came close, but Rotherham were no rollovers and David Button saw a couple whistle wide and had to stay sharp.

Brentford were just about worthy of their half time lead, and spirits had lifted a little, however, battling Rotherham produced a peach of a leveler when Jake Bidwell lost out to Joe Mattock who smashed the ball past Button from 25-plus yards.

There were a few concerned faces around me at this point as fans wondered how the Bees, low on confidence after a string of defeats, would react, so when Jake Bidwell skipped down the flank before delivering the perfect cross for Alan Judge to head home, the relief was palpable. Judge was a class act all afternoon and, in all truth, you wondered where a goal would have come from had he not been playing. I am personally a little concerned that we are not set up to take advantage of Djuracin’s strengths – Hoffman also looked off the pace of the game when he came on up top.

Rotherham had their chances to level again, and the Bees rode their luck once or twice, but the Bees survived the six long minutes of added time to stop the rot… Trips to Wolves and Charlton await, and it is vital we build on this win and start to grow some positive momentum. Let’s see what happens though.

As you will hear in this week’s Pride of West London Post Match Podcast, and in the Beesotted Terrace Video (links above) the fans of both sides were pretty philosophical about this performance… Yes, a win’s a win, but nobody is getting carried away quite yet.

 

Dave Lane