The unbeaten run had to come to end at some stage but Saturday’s defeat at home to Liverpool left a slightly bitter taste in the mouth. The Bees were in this game right to the very end, even down to nine players, and there was a feeling back down the pub afterwards that we could still have got something out of it, even in time added on. The boys left everything they had out there on the pitch. Here’s ten things we took from it.

1. Nine men, and we were still in it right to the death

“We were still in that game all the way to the very end,” was the fair verdict from the Steam Packet faithful afterwards, and nobody watching could argue. Down to nine players against a Liverpool side stacked with £100m talent, Brentford kept pushing for a chance in stoppage time that would have been one of the great grabs of the Premier League era.

2. Yarmoliuk’s headbutt was stupid, but Andrews understood it

The red card for Yehor Yarmoliuk, shown after VAR intervened on a flashpoint with Jeremy Jacquet at a corner, was never going to be overturned – even the angriest fans in the ground admitted as much. Keith Andrews was similarly clear-eyed afterwards, saying Yarmoliuk “had to do better” while putting it down to a player simply losing his temper in the moment. The player went on Social Media to apologise too, which was a classy touch for a young player learning all the time.

3. Andrews wasn’t having the way Liverpool played it either

Where Andrews did push back was on Liverpool’s own conduct around the flashpoint, accusing Jacquet specifically of being “cute and clever” in how the incident was allowed to escalate. It’s the sort of line that tells you everything about how the dressing room felt walking off – robbed, not outplayed.

4. The referee row was exhausting even for the fans who agreed with the big decisions

One supporter summed up the mood perfectly: “I’m so bored of coming out of games and talking about how poor referees are – it’s tiresome, we’re only seven games in.” Even those willing to accept both cards were correct on review found the surrounding theatre – the escort off the pitch, the stoppages, the general sense of officials dictating the afternoon – wearing thin fast.

5. McAllister got exactly the reception he deserved

Few Brentford fans have much time for Alexis MacAllister and the Gtech made sure he knew it all afternoon. “It was good to see him get a little bit of what we thought,” was how one supporter put it – entirely unbothered by the fact he ended up on the winning side.

6. Damsgaard’s return off the bench was good news

After the scare of a long-term absence, seeing Mikkel Damsgaard back among the substitutes was worth clinging to despite the defeat. Nobody needed telling how much his composure had been missed these past few weeks.

7. Thiago’s confidence problem isn’t going away on its own

“It seems like he’s lost that confidence in front of goal,” was the blunt assessment from the terraces, and it’s hard to disagree – a big chance in stoppage time laid off rather than taken summed up an afternoon of good work undone by hesitation. Two goals all season from a forward who scored freely last year is now a pattern, not a blip. But he will come good, mark my words.

8. Ajer, Lewis-Potter and Kelleher all did their bit

Amid the frustration, there was real credit going around for Kristoffer Ajer’s battling display, Keane Lewis-Potter’s goal and overall threat down the left, and Caoimhín Kelleher’s contribution between the sticks. As one fan put it, even in defeat “it wasn’t terrible – we only lost by one with nine men.”

9. Iraola knew exactly how close his own side came to fumbling it

Liverpool’s manager Andoni Iraola was refreshingly honest afterwards about how uncomfortable the closing stages were for his own team: “I think we played really well until the 2-1. After that we started to protect something – I think we didn’t manage the last minutes well.” Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak had settled it inside eight second-half minutes, but Liverpool looking rattled at the end.

10. The run’s over, but there’s no shame in losing this one

First defeat of the season, and it came against a top side with two men more on the pitch – context that matters whatever the table says. Brentford remain firmly in and around the European places heading into the Hull game, a big shame to lose but certainly not the end of the world as you couldn’ knock the effort by the players.

Come on you Bees.

Dave Lane