Brentford went goal crazy in the last 15 minutes against a shell shocked Preston side who, until that point, had given a pretty good account of themselves, but ended up on the wrong end of a five-nil drubbing for their troubles.
Indeed, until Scott Hogan’s 35th minute opener, PNE were lively and had caused the Bees rearguard problems – Dan Bentley was forced to make a couple of important saves as the visitors came at us with pace – his stunning second half tip around the post the pick of the bunch.
The opener was set up thanks to a great pass from Romaine Sawyers, the midfielder threading one into the path of Hogan who, once again, found the perfect finish by rolling the ball past the oncoming Anders Lindegaard to set the Bees on their way.
There was no indication at that stage to suggest Dean Smith’s side would run up a thumping scoreline, in fact those around me agreed the players looked a little tired after their exertions at Villa Park on Wednesday evening, and until Harlee Dean smashed home Brentford’s second on 74 minutes, pouncing on a loose ball that John Egan had headed back into the danger area from a corner, PNE were far from out of it.
Brentford really do pose threats from corners this season – with Macleod and Egan seemingly magnetically linked… Kaikai, making his full debut, also combined well with the forwards throughout the game, and there is certainly plenty more to come from the Palace loanee.
Josh McEachran’s introduction, in place of Nico Yenaris, really seemed to pay dividends, but the Bees’ cause was also helped massively when PNE’s Marnick Vermijl was forced off with a hamstring injury with all three substitutions having been made by Simon Grayson’s team already – and three goals in as many minutes really did add insult to injury.
Brentford third, and Hogan’s second, Â put the game to bed, the Bees’ fourth was a generous own goal after Josh Clarke crossed into the area, and the fifth, Hogan’s hat trick goal, was arguably the best of the lot.
Hogan’s positioning and predatory lurking has been excellent, and his team mates are providing some amazing service for the prolific striker… Lewis Macleod, who also set up Hogan’s opener at Brighton last week, repeated the job with a perfect pass, which was met by yet another precise and devastating finish to compete a route. Every time we came forward at that stage, we looked capable of scoring.
The atmosphere around Griffin Park was understandably excellent by the end, with the fans appreciating that the patient, intelligent approach play is paying off. The Bees are starting to really gel and are growing into the season. The eventual score-line may was harsh on PNE over all, but nobody can argue that four of the five goals were out of the top draw in terms of slick interplay and great team work.
This isn’t a blood and thunder, all-out attack Brentford, there is more of a measured style to our play these days, and it certainly paying off now that Scott Hogan is in the groove and the supply line can come from one of several sources.
As you will hear from the Beesotted Pride of West London post match podcast, in which we spoke to Brentford Chairman, Cliff Crown, who had spent the afternoon standing on the Ealing Road terrace rather than the Directors Box, keeping hold of Scott Hogan in the January transfer window is becoming a hot topic… We also spoke to fans of both clubs who give a great contrast, plus former Bees player Marcus Gayle and Brentford Director, Nity Raj. Click the link above to listen to what they all say.
The win moves the Reds up to fifth – within spitting distance of the summit – however, nobody’s getting carried away at this stage with a trip to inconsistent Wolves next up, but on current form, we travel back to the Midlands with no fear and with every chance of building on the recent excellent run of results.
Dave Lane
@beesotted100
The captains best game this season and the driving force behind the Bees eventual win . Dean my man of the match