Beer we go! Franks for the memories
116 YEARS AT GRIFFIN PARK ENDS IN STYLE
GET the beers in, boss – it’s your round.
Thomas Frank has promised to have a pint in each licensed premises on the four corners of Griffin Park, as his farewell toast to the Bees’ home for the last 116 years, if Brentford win promotion.
After Frank’s swashbuckling side broke Swansea’s hearts in the lastever game in this thirsty corner of west London, landlords at The Griffin, Royal Oak, Princess Royal and New Inn await his rectangular pub crawl with relish.
Brentford are 90 minutes from christening their new stadium by Kew Bridge as a Premier League club, and they said farewell to a proper, old-fashioned football ground in memorable style.
They raced into a three-goal lead but had to cling on for dear life.
And if the Bees win next week’s play-off final against Fulham or Cardiff, they will add an enjoyable funfair ride to English football’s most expensive theme park.
Fired by the injustice of Rico Henry’s red card, if not the 1-0 deficit, in the first leg at the Liberty stadium, the Bees answered their head coach promising “total combat” mode.
It took just 11 minutes for them to overturn the Swans’ narrow advantage and hold the whip hand. Mathias Jensen’s incisive pass split the Swans defence like an all-youcan-eat Sunday roast carvery and
Ollie Watkins raced clear to sweep home his 26th of the season. Four minutes later Said Benrahma’s diagonal cross picked out Emiliano Marcondes, arriving unescorted in the box, and the Dane with Brazilian heritage wrong-footed Erwin Mulder with a firm header.
Never mind water breaks midway through each half: this one needed an oxygen break. Seconds apart, Brentford keeper David Raya – the Championship’s
Golden Glove winner for the most clean sheets – made a brilliant, one-handed save to prevent Conor Gallagher levelling the aggregate again, and Benrahma rattled the inside of a post from 20 yards.
Brentford had to wait until 90 seconds after the interval to ram home their advantage.
Henry, enjoying more space than any red card reprieve should have warranted, found Bryan Mbeumo lurking near the penalty spot and the Frenchman executed his volley to perfection. But just when the Bees thought they were home, Pontus Jansson’s careless mistake let in Rhian Brewster to lob Raya and set up a thrilling finale. BRENTFORD (4-3-3): Raya 8; Dalsgaard 7, Jansson 6, Pinnock 8, Henry 7; Jensen 8, Norgaard 6, Marcondes 7 (Dasilva, 77); Benrahma 8, Watkins 7, Mbeumo 7 (Canos, 77). Goals: Watkins 11, Marcondes 15, Mbeumo 47. SWANSEA (4-4-2): Mulder 6; Naughton 5 (Celina 77), Guehi 6, Van der Hoorn 5 (Cabango, 46, 5), Roberts 6; Fulton 5 (Dhanda, 46, 5), Grimes 7, Bidwell 6, Gallagher 6; Ayew 5, Brewster 6. Goal: Brewster 78.