A 2-1 defeat at Fulham on Monday was about as painful an experience as there has been for Brentford fans in recent years.
Of all the teams to lose against. Of all the places. Of all the ways to do it. A game that saw the Bees leading through Vitaly Janelt’s 24th minute piledriver came unravelled in time added on. Harry Wilson scoring two of the most fortunate goals you will ever see but, sadly, they still count. There are no bonus points awarded or deducted for the quality of the strike.
Fulham were the better team. Something Thomas Frank admitted at full time. Yet we all know that this isn’t what defines the final score. Brentford proving too tough a nut to track despite the host’s elaborate pass and move.
Alas, with The Bees struggling to create in the final third but containing the hosts and defending like Trojans, it all came undone at the death. Wilson unleashing Scott McTominay levels of heartbreak when he got space on late substitute Ben Mee to somehow flick it past Flekken. The touch was sweet but there is no way on this earth he could possibly have meant the positioning, direction or final destination of the ball as it somehow looped in to the back of the net.
The second, in the seventh minute of six added on, an attempt that even Wilson admitted was fluked, explaining afterwards that “I was trying to head it into the other corner but it hit my shoulder and went in”.
Intentional or not, they did the damage. Even at 1-1, Fabio Carvalho might have won it as Bernd Leno denied him from almost point blank range. Kevin Schade unable to get close to the ball as it was parried out. With the move breaking down, the moment was gone.
No complaints. The chances for the visitors were few and far between. Fulham had 26 shots to Brentford’s 5, even if they failed to score in regulation time. Eventually, the pressure telling. Perhaps a sub too far from Thomas in removing all attacking intent and adding Ben Mee on 86 gave Fulham the incentive to come forward. Brentford saying they were content to hang on to Vitaly’s 24th minute opener, leathered in from well outside the box.
It was a strike that deserved to be a game winner. A ball hit with brutal ferocity. Hard and true from distance. Leno not even close to it as it sang through the air en-route to the back of the net. A hot knife through butter of a shot that came close to matching Stuart Dallas as a contender for best ever Brentford goal at Craven Cottage.
In truth though, it was a moment in time. Fulham had the possession and the chances. Brentford playing on the backfoot and struggling with creativity. Something demonstrated by the fact that (spoiler alert) Mikkel Damsgaard fails to make our top five for the first time since game week 3.
Eventually, the horror show playing out to an almost inevitable conclusion. I’ve not felt so upset after a game at Fulham since my ‘Jaffa Cake’ away shirt got a hole in the side after snagging on a van parked too close to the footpath.
There’s not much more to say. Thomas Frank looking for full-time positives would praise his defence. Would promise to look back on this one in the morning when heads were cooler. Not much more that can be gleaned from trying to dissect an evening which showed just how essential it was that chances were created – for both teams.
Instead, it’s time for our look at the top five top five performers. As always, five points being awarded for star player, four for second place, three for third etc with the totals added up game-by-game to find an overall winner for the season.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 10 (vs Fulham)
1st (Star Player: 5 points) – Mark Flekken
When Fulham did get through, there was Mark to keep it out.
Smothered anything that came at or near him with an authority that probably made Fulham think it wasn’t going to be their night. That is, until those two late, late efforts that really our goalkeeper was powerless to resist. Not even Peter Schmeichel would have got close to either, such was the fortunate nature of the finishing.
Without a doubt this game would have been out of sight had the hosts been allowed to convert any of the opportunities they created. Instead, full time found Mark with the post-match stat analysis showing a save count of 10 having been made.
2nd (4 points) – Nathan Collins
Nathan was star player in this game last season and so, scant reward though it is in the grander scheme of the evening’s events, he almost takes the honours again.
It was one of those games where he seemed to be everywhere when Fulham were pressing. The tackle count wasn’t the highest but it was more his presence that kept things in Brentford’s favour for so, so long. Crucial blocks. Timely interceptions. Forcing the opposition into panicked touches or poor decision making as they looked to find the net.
In a game where Brentford failed to sparkle on the front foot (Bryan and Wissa barely getting a look in), Nathan kept things going at the back. Yes, The Bees lost but that wasn’t through any lack of effort on his part.
3rd (3 points) – Vitaly Janelt
Goals win games. Matches hang on certain moments. For so long Vitaly’s blockbuster looked like being the defining point of this latest West London derby.
It was a strike that we’ll all be watching again and again, although perhaps with the added pathos about what it might have gone on to signify had Brentford been able to hang on for something.
Even before the ball found the back of the net, Vitaly was in the upper echelons of the top five performers. I thought he looked really impressive in both the break down and the playing out. The goal capping off what was a great night for the player.
Who knows how things may have turned out had Thomas kept him on rather than made a 93rd minute substitution of a player who had been key to our survival. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, and if the Bees had come away with some reward this wouldn’t even be a consideration. Instead, take it as recognition that the supporters could see what a strong performance Vitaly put in.
4th (2 points) – Ethan Pinnock
It perhaps seems strange that on a night which saw The Bees go home on the wrong end of a reverse, three of the back line are amongst the top four players. That’s football (as Petr Čech sang on his 2019 hit single with Queen’s Roger Taylor).
Yet few could deny the performance Ethan put in for so, so long. If it wasn’t Nathan Collins then it was his partner in central defence. The pair of them combining to keep the opposition out. Brentford’s dynamic duo coping just fine as they were until that late reshuffle to bolster things ended up with last gasp pain.
5th (1 point) – Christian Norgaard
No Damsgaard this time. None of the front three. The subs making little impact (although had Fabio found the net at the death then who knows what we’d be saying today).
My final place goes to captain Norgaard. With Fulham starting so high up the pitch, he was just as crucial as any of the defence in keeping them out for so long. No player, for either team, put in more tackles. As always, Christian gave everything for the team but this time ended up with nothing tangible to show.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Overall (after Matchweek 10)
All of which means that there are no new entries in to our top five although KLP is leapfrogged by both Mark Flekken and Nathan Collins. Mikkel Damsgaard is still well out in front although with him and Bryan Mbeumo failing to trouble the scorers, things get that bit closer.
There’s nothing more to say about this one. Let’s consign it to the drawer marked ‘revenge incoming’ and then all focus on Saturday’s home game with Bournemouth.
1st – Mikkel Damsgaard (29 points)
2nd – Bryan Mbeumo (21 points)
3rd – Mark Flekken (20 points)
4th – Nathan Collins (18 points)
5th – Keane Lewis-Potter (17 points)
