Brentford’s BMW lead the drive to promotion
THE first group of Brentford fans were invited this week to choose seats for next season at their impressive new stadium close to Kew Bridge.
But what none of the promotional literature will dare mention, let alone manager Thomas Frank or anyone around the club, is that those season tickets could well be for a Premier League club.
With Brentford’s so-called ‘BMW’ attacking t ri umvirate — Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo, Ollie Watkins — purring like a luxury car, t hey kept t hat t op- f l i ght ambition very much alive here.
All three scored in a first half that showed why Brentford, while unlikely to catch Leeds United or West Brom in the automatic promotion spots, will be the team to avoid in the play-offs.
While the new stadium is being built, Griffin Park is enjoying a terrific send-off. This was a sixth consecutive home l eague win for Brentford and the last time that happened, back in 2014, they gained promotion into the Championship.
Mark Warburton, the man at the helm back then, is now in charge of
QPR and had little answer here once his old team slipped into top gear. Rangers did improve after half-time and scored through Nahki Wells, but the damage was done.
Frank credited Warburton for laying the foundations of their recent success but it is the Dane who has led them on a march towards the Premier League. The home fans sang about promotion but Frank still refuses to consider the possibility.
‘I don’t want to listen to it. I can hear what they’re singing, we are pleased the fans are dreaming and believing and it makes their week better,’ he said.
Frank said he was ‘proud of the level of football here’ and it is no wonder after a devastating first half.
Brentford took the lead through a t raining ground routine when Benrahma whipped the ball home from Mathias Jensen’s free-kick.
QPR conceded again four minutes later when Christian Norgaard lofted a high ball into the box that Geoff Cameron failed to deal with and Mbeumo finished with an improvised volley. And it was three when Watkins scored his 18th goal of the season from close range after Ethan Pinnock headed a Jensen free-kick back across goal.
Warburton was unhappy that his team conceded twice from freekicks. ‘We practice set-pieces and we knew all about Brentford, we knew what they were going to do. We didn’t track runners, you have to do your jobs at this level. It’s basic.’