Eriksen lifts the goalless gloom
BRENTFORD fans got their first
glimpse of Christian Eriksen — and that turned out to be the highlight of the afternoon.
In normal circumstances, a new signing being introduced for the first time would be an underwhelming sole incident of note, but not in this case.
The midfielder’s miraculous recovery from a cardiac arrest at
last year’s Euros, and return to football by joining Brentford, is one of the stories not just of this season but any season.
The standing ovation he received from all sides of the ground when
he was paraded ahead of kick-off was a reflection of that and how welcome a sight it is to see him back in the game.
Sadly, the two sides could not produce anything to enliven the crowd as much as Eriksen did when he strode out.
Bees boss Thomas Frank said: ‘Unfortunately I didn’t see the reaction but a lot of people said to me it was amazing.
‘That’s very pleasing. I’m also very pleased that it was not only the Brentford fans but also the Crystal Palace fans.
‘For everyone involved in world football it is a big day. It is a statement to everybody and it will be even crazier the day he steps on the pitch and plays. He is obviously one we are looking forward to having in the team.’
This game could have done with Eriksen’s invention to illuminate it. But in his absence it was low on quality, saw Brentford’s winless run extend to seven matches, left Crystal Palace still waiting for their first league victory of 2022 and both managers finding comfort in clean sheets.
Frank added: ‘I’m pleased we were so solid and difficult to play against. The thing we need to do better is on the ball, more quality in the final third and also when we’re building up in some spells.’
Palace manager Patrick Vieira said: ‘I was really pleased with our defensive organisation but when we had the ball we didn’t link well enough to create more chances. Overall the draw is a fair result.’
Initially Eriksen might have been encouraged by elements of what he saw from Brentford, who had their fair share of chances to take a lead into the break.
The lively Bryan Mbeumo had a shot deflected over by Joachim Andersen before Brentford were appealing for a penalty. Marc Guehi handled as he leapt for a long throw but, after a VAR review, referee Simon Hooper gave a freekick for a foul on the Palace defender by Christian Norgaard.
‘I would have hated if that was given against us,’ Frank admitted.
Mbeumo poked straight at keeper Vicente Guaita, some last ditch defending from Joel Ward, Tyrick Mitchell and Will Hughes frustrated Brentford and Sergi Canos headed wide too.
Palace created just one big opportunity, but it was clear enough to have led to a goal.
Jeffrey Schlupp poked the ball off Norgaard to Odsonne Edouard who played through Jordan Ayew.
He had plenty of time to compose himself and pick a suitable finish but did neither, blazing wildly off target.
It was a miss Palace were left to rue. The game began to drift in the second half, so much so that Guaita was at one stage running the width
of his box to stay warm. The introduction of Brentford playmaker Josh Dasilva threatened to inject some spark.
His first involvement, beating Schlupp down the right and firing in a cross, was encouraging.
Guaita was finally given something to do with 15 minutes remaining when he batted away Pontus Jansson’s header.
Seconds earlier, the Swede and fellow centre-back Kristoffer Ajer had turned cheerleaders in an attempt to whip up the crowd as they waited for a corner.
Palace and Wilfried Zaha had a late penalty shout turned down and Andersen extended David Raya with the final kick but, in truth, there had been little to shout about since before the game.