Ouattara’s debut strike and a performance full of fight give Bees first win under Keith Andrews.
What a difference a week makes. Seven days on from a flat opening-day defeat, Brentford gave us the reaction we’d all been crying out for – a performance full of fight, passion, and real determination. Keith Andrews and his players dug deep for the badge and delivered our first three points of the season with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Aston Villa at the Gtech.
The winner came inside 12 minutes, courtesy of new signing Dango Ouattara. Handed his debut just a week after joining the club, the forward showed his sharpness and composure. Caoimhín Kelleher launched play from deep, Igor Thiago flicked on smartly, and Ouattara raced through. His first effort was saved by Emiliano Martínez, but he reacted quickest to slot the rebound into the empty net. A dream start in red and white which the Brentford fans were purring about in the post-match podcast that was recorded inside the ground and back at The Steam Packet after the final whistle. Click the link below to listen now.
It was a day of full debuts too, with Jordan Henderson adding leadership in midfield and Kevin Schade joining Mikkel Damsgaard in the starting XI. Damsgaard almost opened the scoring himself with a brilliant early run and curling effort just wide. Later, he thought he had doubled the lead with a thumping volley, only for VAR to chalk it off for a foul in the build-up.
At the other end, Kelleher was called into action to deny John McGinn, while Sepp van den Berg made a crucial block to thwart former Bee Ollie Watkins. Villa threatened, but Brentford stood firm. Michael Kayode’s long throws kept the visitors on the back foot and Henderson came close with a strike of his own, only to see it deflected behind.
The Gtech had already paused before kick-off to remember former chairman Dan Tana with a moving minute’s applause. By full-time, the stadium was bouncing with relief and pride.
The fans asked for a reaction – and they certainly got one!
Dave Lane
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Just the response we needed, full of energy and enthusiasm, Henderson must start every EPL match when fit, and Damsgaard was sensational. The score should have been 2-0 with VAR and the hysterically inconsistent ref deciding that Martinez flapping and colliding with Collins was a foul. COYB