bryan power is enough to save bees!
BRYAN MBEUMO was a club record signing for Brentford when he joined them from Troyes in 2019 for just €7m.
But he scored a goal yesterday that was absolutely priceless for the Bees, whose Premier League survival now looks all but assured after a fourth win in five games.
Brentford were a Championship side when he signed for them. But they look every inch an established top-flight team now.
Mbeumo’s first league goal since December, and first from open play since October, could not have come at a better time.
Provider
And he then turned provider for Ivan Toney to grab a killer second that helped Thomas Frank’s side open up a 12-point gap from the bottom three.
That is huge at this time of year, even though Burnley, who lost at Norwich, still have two games in hand over them.
It also burst West Ham’s bubble, putting a top-four finish even further out of reach ahead of their Europa League second leg with Lyon.
And the problems are mounting for David Moyes with key defender Kurt Zouma limping off injured.
Brentford have now completed their first league double over West Ham since 1953-54, though this is just the second campaign in which they’ve met since then.
And it was fully deserved as the Hammers failed to get out of second gear in west London and looked worn down by their gruelling European adventure.
Moyes has complained in recent weeks that his team are feeling the strain of their Europa League exploits.
And they got bogged down in a niggly, bad-tempered slog of a first half, with Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio both feeling the full force of Brentford tackles.
When some football briefly broke out, Lukasz Fabianski did well to tip away a piledriver from Bryan Mbeumo, who looked ready to shoot on sight at every opportunity.
Fabianski foiled him again when he thought he had split the offside trap, only to see the linesman’s flag go up.
After that Zouma limped off, unable to continue after failing to run off the injury he suffered when clattered by Christian Norgaard.
Christian Eriksen and Mbeumo both wasted halfdecent chances for the Bees as the home side began to take a firm grip on the game.
But it only took just over two minutes of the second half for Brentford to finally make their superiority pay.
Kristoffer Ajer’s throw-in was expertly flicked through by Toney for Mbeumo to chase and this time he made no mistake, rifling the ball home low and true.
Toney then made it two when Mbeumo recycled a deep Rico Henry cross back into the danger area for Brentford’s main man to finish.
Missed
Danger man Mbeumo missed a chance to make it three when he skied a volley from just eight yards out.
But the points looked safe when Ethan Pinnock denied Hammers Said Benrahma at the other end with a brilliant, last-ditch sliding tackle.
And that was how it proved with West Ham never really threatening a fightback and the Bees comfortably holding on.
BRENTFORD (4-5-1): Raya 6; Ajer 7 (Roerslev 82), Jorgensen 6, Pinnock 7, Henry 6; Mbeumo 8 (Canos 76), Eriksen 7, Norgaard 6, Janelt 6 (Jensen 68, 6), Wissa 6; Toney 7. Subs: Fernandez, Ghoddos, Jeanvier, Fosu-Henry, Baptiste, Sorensen.
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 6; Coufal 6, Dawson 6, Zouma 5 (Diop 29, 5), Cresswell 6; Rice 7, Soucek 6; Bowen 5, Lanzini 5 (Benrahma 57, 6), Fornals 6; Antonio 5 (Vlasic 67, 6). Subs: Areola, Yarmolenko, Fredericks, Masuaku, Johnson, Kral. Referee: Martin Atkinson 6