A second, successive draw for Brentford at the Gtech saw the spoils shared 0-0 with Brighton on Wednesday evening.
Whereas Saturday night’s game with Manchester United had seen the Bees swarming all over their opponents as chance followed chance, the only thing in common this time around was the choice of Metallica for our ‘walk out’ music. The sandman entering then well and truly doing his job in a game which was one for the purists. Or the insomniacs.
That’s not to say Brentford were bad. Far from it. The same starting XI as that which played so magnificently against the Red Devils did equally well this time around. Dropping anybody would have been harsh after such a fine showing at the weekend but with the visitors controlling play, the emphasis was much more on defence than attack this time around.
Indeed, the final count shows Brighton with 67% of possession and 24 shots compared to our five. Of those, six were on target whilst the Bees only mustered up two. Brutal on paper but in practice yet another example of goals being the only true barometer of a game.
For all they dominated, Brighton never felt truly threatening. Danny Welbeck with a couple of late chances (which we’ll get to later) and a spurious penalty shout in the first half were about as good as it got.
Referee Andy Madley ignoring Wissa’s alleged foul on Lewis Dunk before being directed to review it by Michael Oliver watching the game back on VAR. It was a moment that was only surpassed on the surprise stakes, given how innocuous a challenge it seemed with the visitors barely registering an ‘offence’ had taken place, as what happened next.
Mr. Madley choosing to over-rule Oliver and instead awarding the Bees a free kick for Dunk’s initial manhandling of Wissa. It was a moment as beautiful as it was ironic against an official who, apparently, hates being sent to the VAR screen when in the middle himself.
Being honest, chances were few and far between for The Bees yet defeat would have been harsh on a side who looked completely comfortable at the back. Gone were some of the sloppy errors we’ve been privy to earlier in the campaign and, instead, a side happy to soak it up as the situation dictated. Happy to let Brighton come on to us and then look to push out from the back.
In a game against yet another team pushing for Europe, and the Bees looking to avoid getting sucked in to any bottom of the table stress in the final few games of the campaign, Thomas pretty much nailed it in his full time analysis. Namely, the observation that, “What I’m happy with is if we can’t win, don’t lose”.
Next up is the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday. Kevin Schade is reportedly fit although given how Thomas has over played his hand in recent press conferences, read what you will in to that. If Brighton dominated in their pursuit of Europe then one can only expect more of the same from the Villans, with Unai Emery’s team hanging on to fourth spot in the table despite last night’s 4-1 trouncing at Manchester City.
That’s to come but for now our game by game top five. As always, we give five points for first, four for second place, three for third etc with the totals added up game by game to find an overall winner after game 38.
2023-24 Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 31 (vs Brighton)
1st (Star player: 5 points) – Kris Ajer
In a game where the Bees spent so much time on the back foot, the defence was key. They didn’t let us down and Kris, in particular, was magnificent.
That’s not to say the rest of the defence weren’t, but in a game of fine margins his performance stood out in particular. It was yet another commanding performance at the heart of a backline that now has a very consistent feel, despite the more regular names missing.
‘That’ challenge on Danny Welbeck late on one which was absolutely game saving. Timing his penalty box interception to perfection to deny the Brighton front man an almost certain goal (albeit Mark Flekken may have had something to say about that, had he got through). It looked phenomenal in the Gtech. Even better on the post-match highlights pinging around social media.
At one point in the first half, he even had the confidence to go charging up the left touchline. Playing out of the box and setting off on a run that he had no right to but, when your game is currently that good (Kris scooping 12 points out of a max 15 these last three matches), why not?
2nd (4 points) – Nathan Collins
This was the Nathan Collins we’ve paid so much money for in the summer. He’s looked really strong at times this campaign. At others, there have been moments where he has been finding his feet in defence which has had multiple enforced changes.
The Brighton game was very much the former. Nobody from the backline had a higher tackle count as Nathan showed just why Matthew Benham and the Bees backroom staff invested so much in him.
Confident. Assured. Dominating. All those uber-positive words you’d love to be able to apply to anybody in the danger zone. Nathan ticked the box on all of them.
3rd (3 points) – Vitaly Janelt
Like Kris, Vitaly is very much one of our ‘men of the moment. The pair of them trading the ‘star player’ award over the last four games.
With Brighton pinging it around for fun (for example, Pascal Groß making a quite incredible 129 passes) his role protecting the backline, breaking up play then looking to turn defence into attack was perhaps even more crucial than ever.
Vitaly produced the highest tackle count for the Bees on an evening where our front line struggled to make significant inroads. That’s not to criticise – Brighton may have won the tactical battle but Vitaly won the acclaim of the supporters for another performance at the heart of our team
4th (2 points) – Mark Flekken
A clean sheet is always to be applauded. Moreso given the shot count from Brighton, with the ball spending more time in our defensive third than anywhere else.
Yet Mark was confident. Solid. Flinging himself around and whilst there were no video reel ‘worldies’ to play back afterwards, it was as much his consistency that was key. At no point did it feel like there was any genuine danger or threat. Anything at him was calmly gathered. Anything out of the box, nice and safe.
In a game that could easily have been decided by one slip, and we’ve all seen them happen (hello – is that Aaron Ramsdale?), Mark exuded an aura of calm that spread out to the defence and the fans.
5th (1 point) – Yoane Wissa
10 out of 10 for effort. If a goal was going to come for Brentford it would have been via the feet of Wissa. One can’t knock his determination or desire to run at the opposition. With Ivan having a quieter game than normal, Yoane looked ‘player most likely to score’. He had a couple that came close. That one move to open up Brighton via Ivan, KLP and Jensen would have been up there with moves of the season had he been able to steer it in.
Another time there may have been a goal but on an evening of few standout moments, his drive and desire are sufficient to take our final slot.
2023-24 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Players Overall (after Matchweek 31)
All of which mean changes to our table. Whilst the top three remain the same, fourth place now sees four different players all locked on 28 points. With just seven games to go, there’s everything still to play for.
Starting at Aston Villa on Saturday…
1st – Christian Norgaard (43 points)
2nd – Ethan Pinnock (37 points)
3rd – Bryan Mbeumo (35 points)
T4th – Mathias Jensen, Vitaly Janelt, Mark Flekken, Keane Lewis-Potter (28 points)
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