Frank: We all hope Neal stays
BRENTFORD boss Thomas Frank admitted they may not be able to hang on to top goalscorer Neal Maupay after the Frenchman bagged his 20th goal of the season in a comfortable derby victory against QPR.
The Bees’ talisman was his usual composed self when he tucked home the penalty to break the deadlock early in the second half following a foul on Ollie Watkins, before showing great awareness to set up Said Benrahma to double the advantage. Sergi Canos put the icing on the cake with virtually the last kick of the game.
Frank acknowledged that the vultures will be circling for the diminutive forward this summer, but hopes the environment fostered at Griffin Park can convince their top scorer to stick around.
“You can say we are a selling club, but then there are only 10 clubs in the world that aren’t. If we do well and players develop, they will always be a target.
“I know for a fact that players love to play here and stay here and want to develop. We’re just pleased to be together, creating something hopefully special.”
The first real opportunity came after 22 minutes, when Romaine Sawyers showed great imagination to slide a pinpoint ball through to the nippy Benrahma, but the Algerian shot well wide when one-on-one with Joe Lumley.
Wayward passing was costing both sides dearly, but Brentford had the chance to go ahead just before the break when Benrahma’s lofted freekick was met with a scorching volley from Yoann Barbet that looked goal-bound, only to be blocked in the six-yard box. The deadlock was broken early in the second period.
A ball over the top from Moses Odubajo fell into the path of Watkins and when he was barged in the back by Grant Hall, referee Keith Stroud was quick to point to the spot.
After a short delay, Maupay dispatched the penalty past Lumley.
A flowing move involving Henrik Dalsgaard, Sawyers and Maupay saw the ball find its way to Benrahma, but his close-range effort was smothered well by the visitors’ 24-year-old stopper.
The the three points were sealed after 71 minutes. Sawyers slipped a perfectly weighted pass to Maupay, who rounded Lumley and squared for Benrahma to tap in. QPR almost pulled one back when Bright Osayi-Samuel forced a point-blank save from Daniel Bentley in stoppage time.
However, the scoreline became emphatic when substitute Canos darted forward and curled a right-footed effort which deflected past the despairing Lumley.
A despondent Steve McClaren felt a combination of defensive ill-discipline and a questionable decision to award the spot-kick proved costly.
“We needed to be better on the ball. We gave the ball away too much and if we can do that better we’ll create. We didn’t.
“I thought it was a soft penalty. We lost our confidence and it evaporated quickly. Senior players have to step up and keep doing their jobs.”