NO RAYA OF SUNSHINE...
Keeper is a Bee minus
A RUSH of blood from highly-rated keeper David Raya cast a sense of gloom over Brentford’s drive for automatic promotion.
Raya’s seventh-minute howler left Thomas Frank’s side with damage to repair – a scrambled Mads Sorensen effort salvaging a point.
But a third consecutive draw means that the lottery of the play-offs once again looms large for the club which missed out on the Premier League last season in heartbreaking circumstances.
Watford sit pretty in second place, nine points better off.
But Bees boss Frank said: “They will be saying nothing is over yet. It always feels disappointing not to get three points but you have to handle these frustrations and move on again.
“We need to keep clear heads and keep believing because there’s everything to play for.”
For Huddersfield, it’s another small step to securing their Championship future, emphasised by a spirited display led by their all-action midfielder Lewis O’Brien. But Terriers manager Carlos
Corberan insisted: “We’re not safe and must fight until the end. There are 24 points left and I think we need 12 because it’s a real battle in that part of the table.”
Spaniard Raya blundered, racing out of his goal as Mads Roerslev slipped on the edge of the area.
And when the ball came out to the alert O’Brien, he calmly took advantage of the defensive confusion to calmly fire into the gaping goal. Brentford were convinced they should have been awarded a penalty when Naby Sarr appeared to handle when challenging Ivan Toney.
Huddersfield looked to also have a good case for a spot-kick when O’Brien was clipped in the box by Saman Ghoddos.
The equaliser arrived after 50 minutes when Sorensen got the final touch after a Pontus Jansson header had been cleared off the line by Sarr.
And Toney might have won it – but shot against the post.