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Brentford found the town of Rotherham in angry mood on Saturday, and the Bees’ two-nil win at their expense certainly did nothing to lift the dark atmosphere. With far right protestors taking to the streets in response to the child abuse outrage there was a surreal vibe pre-match whilst walking to the stadium – food for thought indeed – but once inside the New York Stadium, everyone in the away end could concentrate purely on an all together happier topic, namely another away win.

Harlee Dean was rewarded for a solid midweek performance against Fulham and retained his place at the heart of the defence alongside James Tarkowski, with Andre Gray earning another start up top – both players have every reason to be delighted with their afternoon’s work – especially the former Luton striker who scored an absolute peach on the stroke of half time, curling home into the top corner after being teed up by Alan Judge. The fans at half time were buzzing – it was a top notch finish by a player who seems to be seizing his chance to shine at a higher level and its great to witness.

The Bees certainly didn’t have things all their way and, as we saw last season, The Millers are a decent side: well organised and hard working. The home side hit the woodwork twice when both Broadfoot, then Taylor, saw headers bounce off the bar – but you surely expect any home side to enjoy periods of intense pressure, especially at this level.

In possession, which The Bees once again enjoyed the lion’s share of according to the match stats (54%)… The midfield combination of Jotta, Pritchard, Judge and Dallas looked slick, with Douglas once again working his socks off in the centre, sniffing out danger and helping mop up. Jotta, the new arrival from Celta Vigo, seems to be taking to life in the Championship extremely well and it would appear he gets better with every game. Adam who?

Sadly, Scott Hogan’s introduction with a touch over 20 minutes to go was short-lived, the striker suffering what looked to be a nasty knee injury. Fingers crossed its not as bad as we all first thought – but it was clear the player was in great pain and distress before being carried off an a stretcher.

With eight minutes of injury time separating Brentford from a much needed win, Bees of old would have attempted to wind down the clock by defending deep with men massed behind the ball, however, this Bees team prefers to retain possession and attack in high positions. Its a great ethos… the opposition can’t score if you have the ball, can they?

That positivity was rewarded deep into injury time when Arsenal loanee, Jon Toral, jinked his way deliciously down the bye-line to tee-up Proschwitz – game, set and match Brentford.

Securing another three-point haul was the perfect reward for the players who put in an excellent shift in difficult circumstances, not to mention the 600-plus loyal fans who made the trip to South Yorkshire and created a fantastic atmosphere throughout.

On this showing at least The Bees have progressed in the quality department at a greater rate than Rotherham during the summer months. The Millers are definitely a decent barometer to measure ourselves against in the survival stakes and, from what we’ve seen so far this season, we’re doing just fine thank you.

Mark Warburton said after the game how magnificently his players had conducted themselves, with special praise for David Button, who not only pulled off two very good saves at important stages, in the second half in particular, he dominated his area with some exceptional handling and catches under pressure.

Whingy Miller Steve Evans’ take on the game was a little less rational – the hippo-like Millers manager feeling that Brentford ‘nicked’ the win and it was his side who deserved all three points after hitting the woodwork twice and squandering several other chances… “Brentford were battered from start to finish” apparently, but not from where I was seated that’s for sure… Obviously he’s got batter on the brain. Evans was not happy with the officials either, claiming; “I think they have had a little bit of assistance from the referee, who I thought was poor all day.” Sour grapes and very ungracious indeed… The Bees played very well in stages and well worth the points.

Dave Lane