Brentford 2 West Ham 0
If this is what life without Ivan Toney looks like, would it be so bad? Thomas Frank suggested this week his leading scorer would command a nine-figure sum, but he was absent here with a minor hamstring ailment. That gave Brentford – fans, Frank and players alike – a Sunday portal to peek into a potential future.
What they saw brought plenty of sunshine and smiles: they strolled past West Ham. Two members of the front three, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, were on the scoresheet. The former is a lovely footballer to watch, one of the game’s gliders, while the latter appears to have goals in him. Being hypercritical, both should have scored more than one apiece.
No matter. For only the second time this season, Brentford were victorious having dominated possession. A side so used to success through pressing is evolving. Should the unthinkable happen and Toney depart, or should any of the 262 alleged breaches of Football Association betting rules result in a lengthy absence, an alternative way can be found.
While they have lost just twice at home in the league this season, Brentford’s reputation for last-gasp winners is one they would love to shift. So most pleasing in these parts was the regularity of the victory. They would love that to become the rule rather than the exception.
New Griffin Park was not quite at its fortress-like loudest, but it did not need to be. It was an afternoon for acoustic over electric, accompanied by a half-time rendition of Hey Jude by Alex Vargas of Ted Lasso fame. Apparently.
With these three points, European football remains a mathematical possibility, if not one with much chance of realisation. That Brentford have not been worriedly glancing at the teams below them for some time now, though, should be considered remarkable.
Their opening goal was simple, West Ham seemingly content with shadow defending. Nayef Aguerd’s half-baked pass put Flynn Downes in trouble, and Mikkel Damsgaard won possession. A pair of one-touch passes later, Mbeumo was calmly rolling the ball into the net. Frank simply stroked his chin.
More frantic happenings came from Mathias Jensen’s long throw, which caused several moments of panic-cum-hilarity. Damsgaard and Ben Mee’s blocked shots sandwiched a Wissa effort that was saved.
The second goal came from a long throw. David Moyes had been gesticulating furiously towards his defenders, but his warnings were ignored as Mee flicked the ball on and Wissa glanced it in. He ran immediately to Saman Ghoddos on the bench, Brentford having announced pre-game that the popular Iranian’s contract will not extend beyond June 30th.
After the break, Brentford had several opportunities to extend their lead. The best came when Tomas Soucek – one of two, alongside Aguerd, to retain their West Ham place from Thursday’s Europa Conference League semi-final first leg – was sloppy in possession. Wissa gave the ball to Mbeumo, Mbeumo gave it back, but then Wissa’s right-foot shot was not quite good enough.
Spare a thought for Damsgaard too, yet to score for Brentford he really ought to have done so several times, most glaringly when poking over, unmarked from a corner.
Brentford’s success here must be tempered by their opposition. West Ham’s attention was clearly elsewhere. Moyes said as much. His pre-match claim that they had just “one eye” on Thursday night in Alkmaar felt a little economical with the truth. There is no criticism there, league safety is all but secured, and priority therefore is the 90-minute shift required to bring a first European final in 47 years.
West Ham offered nothing in the opening period until Danny Ings forced David Raya into a save as injury-time approached. The corner that followed was comical. Just before the hour, Moyes introduced Declan Rice, Saïd Benrahma and Divin Mubama. It brought an uptick, and almost ensured a nervy finish when Ings stooped to head in.
Michael Oliver, though, was invited to consult the VAR screen. While Mubama’s hands were up to prevent him colliding with the post, the ball did strike his fingers. A tad unfortunate. Still, while this was one to quickly forget for West Ham, that could happen this week should an early June trip to Prague be confirmed. – Guardian
