A 2-0 reverse for Brentford at home to Spurs was about as frustrating an afternoon as they come.
Perhaps, as if one were needed, another reminder that anybody can beat anybody in the Premier League. Despite the woeful form and lengthy injury list (something you may not have been aware of but I believe might have been mentioned once or twice) the visitors did what counts. Twice. Namely, find the back of the net.
Well done. That’s how football works. For all that Brentford, who dominated the early play, had (apparently) twenty shots only a handful of half-chances linger in the memory. The wind taken out of the Bees’ sails by Vitaly Janelt’s unfortunate own goal on the half-hour mark. It was a moment from which Thomas Frank’s team were unable to recover.
Son Heung-Min’s corner played close to the line and going in off Janelt’s back. The midfielder, reserve goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson and the defence so tight on each other in a crowded box that nobody could move. The German hemmed in by his own team-mates and powerless to resist the inevitable.
Own-goals fast moving up the Tottenham top scorer charts – that’s now 8 in the last two seasons. Brentford fans wondering if the absent Mark Flekken (reportedly out with a ‘side strain’ but expected to be fit for West Ham next time out) would have made a difference in a box that he normally dominates.
Urgh. One could feel the waves of despondency sweeping over the Gtech. The half-time Centre Circle challenge an even more lacklustre affair than what had gone before as the competitors (albeit, credit to Ijah Anderson for having a try in his best ‘going out’ shoes) did their best to match the players in failing to hit the target.
Yet the second-half began with renewed vigour. The crowd back on their feet. The Bees going again and pressing, pushing, creating but unable to turn work-rate and effort in to clear cut chance.
The Tottenham defence, something that we were told going in to this one was the footballing equivalent of a unicorn, proving to be something of actual substance rather than the stuff of myth and legend. This wasn’t in the rules – they were supposed to have all the resistance of a rice pudding.
Michael Kayode’s arrival from the bench on 76 minutes giving further boost to The Bees’ faithful. The thought that Brentford would somehow level things up before racing to a last gasp victory still weighing heavy on the mind.
Yet any such dreams were blown away heading towards time added on. Bentancur allowed to run unchecked through the midfield, his pass finding Son who played a quite wonderful ball in to the path of the onrushing Pape Sarr. Despite the slightly oblique angle, no mistake was made as he slid it through Valdimarsson from the corner of the six yard box.
A totally avoidable goal from the moment Archie Gray almost lost possession for Spurs down their end yet the visitors recovering to catch The Bees on the break and put the game to bed.
No complaints. There’s no such thing as the divine right to win every game. Regardless of their anti-form coming in to this one, Spurs did what they needed to. Brentford put the work in but were unable to get the breaks.
One could perhaps look to kicking ‘the wrong way’ in the first-half as upsetting the natural rhythm of things. There’s no doubting the disruption that comes from changing out a player in a key position, either.
I also think – straps on tin hat – that Wolfsburg’s gain in Mads Roerslev was definitely our loss. At least for the first 75 minutes where we missed his pace down the right.
That said, the longer-term potential that comes from that bit of business was clear to see.
We could chew this one to death but it won’t change the fact that Brentford lost. So we won’t. Instead, our top five player ratings. 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 24 (vs Tottenham)
1st (Star Player: 5 points) – Mikkel Damsgaard
Back up to first for Mikkel following his second place last time out. There’s now a quite wonderful symmetry to his season.
From the twenty-four league games played, this is now his eighth Star Player award and sixteenth appearance in the top two. Do your own three times table to work out just how good that is. To be a minimum of silver medal position in two-thirds of all games played by all players is something special.
Should Brentford be looking at a summer rebuild (Christian Norgaard is yet to sign a contract extension whilst the noise around Wissa and Mbeumo just won’t go away), the team will surely be built around Mikkel.
We had all the usual yesterday. Ball tied to foot dribbling. Laser guided passes. Top of the tackle count (only Vitaly coming close) and king of the crosses with a healthy 12 key balls played in to the danger zone.
It wasn’t to be Mikkel or Brentford’s day but that didn’t stop him putting in a sterling effort.
2nd (4 points) – Michael Kayode
Talking of team rebuilds… He was only on for the final quarter hour and time added on but what a way for the 20 year old to make a first impression.
Thomas wasn’t wrong when he described him as a “fantastic physical package”. Combining strength and prowess with pace, he already looks at home speeding up the right wing from defence.
His long throw in to the box is an asset we’ve not seen since the days of Mads Bech. Ethan Pinnock can toss them in but these were next level. One falling quite wonderfully for Fabio Carvalho, whose goal-bound bicycle kick was hacked off the line by Djed Spence.
It was a cameo role up there with Sean Connery at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Absolute quality to round off the main event and definitely left us walking out with his name at the forefront.
What a start to life at The Gtech.
3rd (3 points) – Keane Lewis-Potter
And to complete the look ahead to next season, KLP’s recent contract extension was, as with similar signed by Mikkel Damsgaard, once again shown to be shrewd business by the Brentford board.
On a day where, being honest, there wasn’t the same level of hard fought competition for the top five as normal (as much due to Spurs’ refusal to be worn down at the back) KLP was still well up the list of contenders.
He put in a proper 90 minute shift up and down the left. Tireless. Unceasing. Making me feel knackered just watching on. Outpassing even Damsgaard, such was his involvement in the creative side of the game.
Perhaps KLP may feel a tad hard done by in ‘only’ coming third today (he won’t – there’s no chance he reads this) but his was still one of the standout Brentford performances on an afternoon of all round hard graft.
4th (2 points) – Christian Norgaard
Super solid in the middle from the Captain. One of his more creative games in the final third, too.
I really hope he is with us next season. A midfield including him and Damsgaard with the ever-more impressive looking Yehor Yarmoliuk would be quite something. YY didn’t get a look in on Sunday but Christian was there, showing all his experience, defensive guile and ability to open up the game out of nowhere.
5th (1 point) – Bryan Mbeumo
Quieter than normal from Bryan but on a frustrating afternoon for fans and team alike, he never stopped trying.
Might have scored. Then again, he did everything to give his team mates the chance to do so themselves. Only Mikkel Damsgaard was ahead of him on the final cross count and that by the narrowest of margins.
It wasn’t to be Bryan’s day, this time. The same could be said for everybody though. Games hang on key moments and this was very much one of them.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Overall (after Matchweek 24)
All of which means that with tired legs now being given a chance to recover c/o that FA Cup exit, we go in to our weekend off with Mikkel Damsgaard even further ahead at the top of the player ratings chart.
1st – Mikkel Damsgaard (74 points)
2nd – Bryan Mbeumo (47 points)
3rd – Mark Flekken (43 points)
4th – Keane Lewis-Potter (40 points)
5th – Christian Norgaard (38 points)
