A 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Brentford at Anfield a result that, in isolation, was history-making but, in the grander scheme, not quite enough to make the European dream come true.
A first Premier League goal and point for the Bees, not insignificant, but with Keith Andrews knowing that his team had to win to make top eight, sadly it wasn’t enough. Kudos to the players. Likewise, the jam-packed away end in the blistering heat. The noise from the Brentford faithful drowning out the alleged twelfth man of the Kop. It was almost enough to do it, too. Dango Ouattara having his own Richard Cadette moment with the game in the final minutes of time added on.
Had his header gone in then – well, you know the script.
Instead, it was a butt-clenching game played out in sweltering conditions and one-way traffic for the first hour. The Bees sitting so deep it was like watching Liverpool negotiating the Mariana Trench, but, equally, somehow doing everything but score.
The thud from Mo Salah’s free kick hitting the post probably still reverberating around the ground even now. A noise only matched by the sound of 3 000 or so hearts returning from mouths to chest as the ball seemed certain to hit the back of the net.
Surely the floodgates would have opened had that one gone un but, instead, the Bees held firm. Liverpool with all the build-up play, but the Brentford backline holding strong and forcing our illustrious opponents, resplendent in a reworking of their 89-91 paintbrush shirt, to shots from distance.
Szoboszlai flashed one wide before Kelleher, then pulled out a fine save from Gravenberch, diving to his left to give the hosts a corner rather than the goal they’d thought was imminent. Next up, Ngumoha, after being offered rare space. The youngster running towards Kayode then just stepping to one side to make room. Henderson ignored as easily as if not even there, but thankfully, the shot from distance curled wide.
Then, from nowhere, the Bees’ frontline woke up. Even if momentarily… Schade with the chance to redeem what has been a car-crash of a last few months. A chance to repay Keith’s blind loyalty to a player so off his game he seems to have packed his bags already.
Yet here it came…. Collins’ flick on found the German in space in the middle of goal, six yards out. Somehow, he fired straight at Alisson rather than either side of the imposing goalkeeper, and the Brazilian was able to stick out a foot to divert it wide.
Brentford’s official would describe this one on social media as ‘a fine stop,’ and to be fair, it really was. Equally though, with chances at an absolute premium, the Bees will be wondering how on earth they didn’t take a lead which would have been so far against the run of play as to be daylight robbery.
On the plus side, Liverpool then broke at speed. Charging down field, Szoboszlai’s cross found Cody Gakpo in an even better position than Schade had been. Acres of space, the centre-backs still rejigging, yet there was Kayode acting as the last line of defence to head the goal-bound bullet clear. It was a quite magnificent block. As vital as any goal that Brentford may have scored, but with things all square at the interval, it really did feel like a matter of when rather than if before the hosts finally went ahead.
Sure enough, the dam finally broke. There’s only so much pressure can be withstood. Fifty-eight minutes in, and Mo Salah, totally free down the right, had all the time to deliver a ball into the box from which Curtis Jones made no mistake. Arriving like a runaway freight train, his run timed to perfection. His interception and finish equally good. The solid Brentford defence undone by sheer pace and precision. Not even Kelleher was stopping that one.
The one positive being that it seemed to finally rouse the Bees. A mere six minutes later, and it was all square. Keith, having made his obligatory 60th-minute substitution, and Aaron Hickey, coming on for Jordan Henderson, played it across to KLP. His deflected effort falling kindly for Schade, but this time there was no mistake. If anything, a harder opportunity to take with Andy Robertson right on top of him but finish he did.
Finally, the Bees scoring a Premier League goal at Anfield. What a time to do it. Of all the players, too. Could this be the final hurrah? Late changes from Keith. Damsgaard on 83 – perhaps a tad cautious as he came on for Jensen. The always curious 88th minute switch with Reiss Nelson entering the fray before the board, then showed ten minutes time added on. Thankfully. There had been half a thought that the ongoing standing ovations for club heroes would be conveniently be forgotten about. Then, Kelleher pulling out out all the stops to deny Kerkez deep into this period of time added on.
Then, the moment. The chance. The opportunity. Damsgaard’s first cross into to try and find Schade had been cleared, but he got a second bite at the cherry.
Again, the ball dropped in from the Liverpool right to the heart of the box. A peach of a cross. Dango Ouattara unmarked in the middle. Dango at the death. Dango with the opportunity to write himself into Brentford legend. Dango only able to watch his header go wide. Keith Andrews collapsing to the floor with his face in his hands,
He knew what it meant. We knew what it meant. The European dream over. A draw at Anfield not quite enough to see Brentford over a line that, in truth, they should have crossed weeks before. One win in the final quarter of the season – potential relegation form if we are being honest – not enough to continue the momentum that had been built up once Keith’s team had found their feet after that challenging start to his tenure.
There you go. What else can be said? The plus point being that, on paper, ninth place in the Premier League is still a remarkable achievement. Brighton in eighth, taking that last European spot by virtue of goal difference alone. Still an incredible place for the Bees, but all fans knowing that, deep down, things really could have ended even better for a team containing the Premier League’s second-highest scorer. With the pundits and observers in patronising overload, there was nothing more to do than watch Bournemouth, Sunderland, and Brighton celebrate their own achievements in reaching Europe.
For Keith and Brentford, that dream is over for now. On to next season and the chance to do it all again. Fresh legs. Fresh spirit. Perhaps even some fresh faces. Matthew Benham has a lot to consider if he wants to take that next step forward on our footballing journey. There have been stumbles before, and there will be stumbles again. It is how we dust ourselves down from these that is the key thing, more so as this one feels a particularly bitter pill to swallow this Monday morning.
Until then, though, our final look back at the top five players for Brentford – both in this game and overall. With Michael Kayode making himself uncatchable in this poll last time out, would there be any further changes?
Star Player. (Five points). Caoimhín Kelleher
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Just as he took the star player in our last road trip (Manchester City), a visit to a powerhouse of the game and team that had everything to play for saw our number one demonstrate why he had been on the radar for so long.
Ironically, had the Bees won and made it into Europe, then I understand Liverpool would have triggered an additional purchase clause. Yet despite Aston Villa being uncatchable in fourth thanks to their defeat of Manchester City, the Anfield outfit never gave up.
Thankfully, neither did Caoimhín. Such was the speed of Salah and Jones that he had no real chance, the one time he was beaten. For everything else, though, he was unflappable. So, so confident under pressure and in the box. Fine stops from Gravenberch – flinging himself to his left – and then Kerkez at the death when Brentford had finally started to show some urgency.
Without him, we’d have been dead in the water long before, and not even talking today about how close we came. About the difference between a header going on target rather than off.
However sore things may feel this morning, first time out with a new goalkeeper can be tough. David Raya took his time settling in before becoming the greatest in the Premier League. Season one, Mark Flekken was a nightmare in goal-line rigidity.
Let’s not forget that, however well he played last season – and he really did – the inability to dive or catch first time around was the stuff of nightmares. As for the emergency cover when Raya was out injured… move along and remember kids, don’t have nightmares.
The point being that Kelleher has come in and dominated the position from the get-go. Thiago and Kayode will get the headlines, but for me, one of the greatest triumphs to come out of this campaign is just how quickly Caoimhín has become part of the furniture.
Thankfully, he doesn’t move like one. Sunday at Anfield showed just that.
Second. (Four points). Michael Kayode
What a man. Proof, again, as to why he is our player of the season. In truth, the brilliance of Thiago has been tempered by supply line issues – that’s as much on Keith and his tactics – but Kayode’s season-long consistency has seen him named our top player on this game-by-game count.
He shocked many – not so much with his midweek confession that he’s not a fan of spaghetti, although IS partial to a Moretti – but more with the realisation that there is way, way more to him than just a long throw. Something the media have obsessed with so much that there’s been a tacit inability to see his actual pace, strength, and range of passing.
He had a blinder on Sunday. True, there were times when his position was left unguarded in his desperate attempts to get things going higher up the field, but he was there when it counted. My word, that stop from Jones kept Brentford in the game, and when Kayode was needed, then there he was to answer the call. Again.
Third. (Three points). Mikkel Damsgaard
Left on the bench for this one in a game Brentford simply HAD to win. Instead, Vitaly and Janelt both picked – players I love, but neither of whom had a particularly good afternoon when their skill sets were probably not what was needed. I’d rather go down swinging than soak it up on the ropes. Make a fist of things for a little more than the final 25 minutes.
Whilst, of course, we play as a team, the style and gameplay need to give you a fighting chance. For all Mikkel only came on relatively late, you could see the spark he brought to the party. The Bees set for that last push in the incessant sunshine (a fellow North Stand observer claiming that Anfield was more like the Azteca, such was the cauldron of heat in which this one played out).
Our player of the year last season may have lost his crown, but he never gave up this time around. Had Dango been able to convert Damsgaard’s cross, then, well, it would have been dreamland for Brentford.
Fourth. (Two points). Keane Lewis-Potter
The continued presence of KLP in our top five is as much a testament, much like Kayode on the other side, to his defensive work as his building play down the flanks. Equally, asking the bigger questions as to how Schade and Ouattara have been used for much of the season?
He may have missed out on our overall top five, but that was mainly due to game time when Keith really failed to use the option crying out to him and which KLP had demonstrated so clearly the previous season. He had no right to be better than Rico Henry or Arron Hickey, both natural wingbacks, but when the opportunity had come, he grasped it and really made that chance his own.
There have been many times I’d love to have seen him forced higher up in lieu of the lacklustre Schade, but instead, different decisions have been made. To be fair, that’s got to be seen as a compliment to Keane. He is nailed on in that attacking full-back role. When you are lining up against Mo Salah on his own farewell tour, that’s not a bad feather in the cap.
Fifth. (One point). Sepp van den Berg
It could have been Schade – he did score an actual goal. Our first at Anfield in what feels like ever. Certainly, at this level.
Yet in a game where The Bees spent so much time under the cosh and on the back foot, I thought Sepp more than held in own. More than kept things tight on that back line
The arrival of Jannik Schuster presents an interesting challenge for the head coach next season. He comes packed with potential, and whilst I am sure he’ll be eased into the team, who does he make way for? Sepp has out-performed club captain Nathan Collins over the 38 games this season, and yesterday was another example of how well he can do.
All of which means that our final table sees changes. With Jensen failing to make top five (for once) and Damsgaard’s late arrival, a MOTM performance from Caoimhín saw him leapfrog the Danes into our final table.
- 1st: Michael Kayode 62 points
- 2nd: Igor Thiago 55 points
- 3rd: Caoimhín Kelleher 53 points
- 4th: Mikkel Damsgaard 52 points
- 5th: Mathias Jensen 49 points
