ACE MIRCO IS MAKING HIS MARK
LEEDS boss Uwe Rosler praised Mirco Antenucci’s contribution after the substitute rescued a point for undefeated Leeds.
Antenucci’s introduction at the break turned the game for United, who had faltered after a decent start and gave the advantage to a silky Brentford side.
Rosler, who managed the Bees for two-and-a-half years, said:“We got a little bit passive in the first half, and when you play that game against Brentford they’ll find a hole and they punished us.
“In the last 25 minutes of the first half Brentford were the better team and deserved to go in at half-time with the lead.
“In the second half we put Mirco on, and then Luke Murphy, and I think when we brought those two players on we changed the game in our favour in the last 25 minutes.
“We finished the game very strong and got the equaliser – completely deserved – and we went for the kill.
“I’m disappointed in that period we didn’t win the game, but overall I think it’s more than fair to say it was a draw for two teams who wanted to win and was a fair result.”
Rosler’s summary was correct – Brentford were the better side in an open first half – though he understandably didn’t mention that they were aided by some less-than-convincing moments from United skipper Sol Bamba.
The centre-back was caught in possession in his own half twice in two minutes midway through the half but escaped unpunished thanks to good covering by Liam Cooper.
But the visitors punished another Bamba mistake on 28 minutes after the Ivorian’s slip allowed Alan Judge to break through and play in Marco Djuricin for a tidy finish.
That allowed Brentford to ease off slightly and show why they have the highest possession percentage in the division, making it clear that Rosler had to make changes at the break
The German sacrificed midfielder Alex Mowatt to introduce Antenucci up front alongside Chris Wood.
He almost had a quick impact, getting into a good position to receive Stuart Dallas’ cross at the near post only for goalkeeper David Button to step out and snatch the ball away.
Djuricin went close to a second goal after Leeds again conceded possession too easily, with goalkeep- er Marco Silvestri at fault with his sloppy distribution, but the Austrian’s shot came back off the post.
Brentford needed Harlee Dean’s tackle to keep Chris Wood from continuing his good scoring start to the season, with the defender deflecting the Kiwi’s shot onto the post after a good Antenucci cross.
That partnership worked better in reverse when Antenucci dummied Alan Tarkowski before finding the bottom corner off Wood’s pass.
The result leaves Brentford with five points from their opening five games, and manager Marinus Dijkhuizen is hoping to see his side find a way to turn their domination into points.
He said: “The boys were disap- pointed in the dressing room because they had the feeling they were going to win this game.
“I think when we get back and see some clips they’ll see how good they played.
“We played very good football, especially in the first half and created maybe eight or nine chances, which is a lot, and it’s also the disappointing thing because you have to kill the game. “It’s almost unbelievable how it goes sometimes. “We’ve played five games and it’s been a lot of games like this.
“It wasn’t a good performance against Reading, that was clear to everybody, and this was much better, so now we have to prepare for our game against Middlesbrough on Tuesday.”