Eriksen & Ivan’s vote of Franks
‘CHRISTIAN IS OUR GREATEST SIGNING’
THOMAS FRANK heaved a sigh of relief at this triumph – and then hailed Christian Eriksen as the most important signing in Brentford’s history.
The Dane took a giant step for his club to retain Premier League status as the Bees moved nine points clear of the dropzone with a late, late show.
And they had a moment of real quality from the former Spurs man to thank, leaving Clarets chief Sean Dyche to curse his luck. Burnley enjoyed the clearer chances but they paid the price for failing to close down the Danish playmaker four minutes from time – and Eriksen supplied a superb cross for Ivan Toney to break the deadlock.
The same player then added his second from the spot after he was bundled over in the dying stages, leaving the Brentford Community Stadium bouncing with joy after backto-back wins in the past week.
Even Dyche saluted Eriksen’s cross as ‘fantastic’ but Frank went one stage further.
He said: “It was top quality. We have seen it a few times against us. Manchester City here, onenil to them – an unbelievable cross from Kevin De Bruyne.
“Today, we had that quality from Eriksen and it was onenil to us. He gives us that extra sharpness in those decisive moments.
“For me, signing him wasn’t a gamble.
For me, getting Christian wasn’t a gamble. He’s top quality I was pretty convinced that he could help us
I was pretty convinced he could help us.
“If he could, then I knew he would be a fantastic signing – maybe Brentford’s best-ever – or maybe the most important, depending on how you measure it.
“He didn’t have an injury. It was a heart problem. He wouldn’t have lost any speed. There was a mental issue and we talked a lot about that.
“But he was decisive. He said: ‘I want to play in the World Cup.’ When he’s as decisive and clear in what he wants, then you know it’s not a gamble.”
This was a game of fine margins. That vital X-factor was missing though, until Eriksen stepped up.
There were plenty of near misses. Dwight McNeil should have scored with a header in the first-half. At the other end, Vitaly Janelt should have taken advantage of a rare Nick Pope misjudgement to nod over him into an empty net in the second.
Yes, it was one of those could have, should have afternoons.
Dyche was rightly miffed at what might have been. Maxwel Cornet saw a shot blocked by David Raya’s legs after Rico Henry’s backpass set him up.
Jay Rodriguez then hit a 30-yarder onto the crossbar.
But, as the game entered its dying stages, Eriksen seized the initiative. It came out of nothing as the ball reached him on the left.
Burnley were slow to recognise the danger and a burst of speed allowed him the space to swing over a delightful far post cross. Toney was almost waiting for it. He directed his header downwards and into the corner of the net.
The Clarets had to press. They overdid it and were caught on the break. Toney bore down on goal and Nathan Collins felt his only option was to shoulder-charge the striker. Toney hit the deck.
Referee Paul Tierney reached for the red card and the man saluted by Frank as ‘the best penalty-taker in the world’ duly converted.
Dyche said: “Look, what happened today was just our reality.
“It’s not a big blow. There’s still 11 games left. If you don’t get the details right – I’ve been talking about it all season.
“We were on the ascendancy – I should say it was a fantastic cross from a very good player – but we should deal with that better.”
Dyche added: “Ten games ago, people forget, we were written off.
“We’re still in there, fighting. And we’re not a million miles away with that performance.”