Onyeka ends Bees’ months of misery

RARELY can a football match have elicited so many groans: at passes overhit, offside flags and a lack of quality in front of goal.

The cheers greeting Oliver Arblaster’s 63rd-minute own-goal were tinged with more than the regular roars. Perhaps it was the end to more than an hour of frustration; maybe the promise of a first win since February 10 for the hosts.

Frank Onyeka’s injury-time goal put a more entertaining spin on a game that promised to fade from memory by the morning.

There was only one emotion for manager Thomas Frank at three points that take Brentford closer to Premier League survival.

‘Relief!’ he said. ‘I just said to the players, “Please don’t do that to me again, not winning in nine”.

‘That spell and this season are reminders that this league is the toughest in the world.’

Sheffield United started brightly, with Ben Brereton Diaz squandering a one-on-one chance, rolling the ball into goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s hands.

You felt for Neal Maupay, the 5ft 6in forward peppered with crosses against one of the league’s taller defences but, in the 37th minute, Mbeumo intercepted a misplaced pass and clipped a delightful ball into Maupay’s path, but his stabbed effort bounced agonisingly wide.

Brentford made the breakthrough when Mikkel Damsgaard raced into the box and his cross bounced off Arblaster and into the bottom corner. Onyeka then made sure with a close-range finish to take the Bees up to 14th.

‘I don’t think there was a lot in the game,’ said Blades boss Chris Wilder. ‘Even if you look at the [first] goal, it’s a five-on-three in their box. We should do better.

‘Their guy carried it from one end to the other, we possibly could have done better with our recovery runs, but again it’s something that’s gone against us.’