Brentford 1 Rotherham 0
Yesterday, my tour of the London clubs continued with a trip to Brentford for the visit of Rotherham. It was a "Pay What You Can" match and what I can pay is a fiver. With a capacity of just under 13,000, Griffin Park is a proper old school football ground with terraced areas at both ends and not a corporate box in sight. I understand plans are underway to build a new 20,000 seater stadium at Lionel Road near Kew Bridge in time for the 2016/17 season. This is unsurprising, particularly given how quickly Brentford have established themselves as a second tier side having been promoted from League 1 last season*.
I went to Griffin Park for a pre-season friendly against OGC Nice in August, during which the only five away supporters in the ground were serenaded with the chant "You're just a shit type of biscuit". On that day, Alex Pritchard (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) excelled in a 3-2 win. He was also in fine form yesterday, unfortunate not to score with a second half strike that hit the post. He also had one of Brentford's best chances in a cagey first half, narrowly chipping wide after a skillful back heel.
Rotherham manager Steve Evans felt that "We should really have been out of sight by the break" by which I can only assume he meant "We missed two very good first half chances", where an overhit cross into the box prevented a tap in and a Richard Smallwood shot from ten yards was placed feebly into the goalkeeper's hands. They were overwhelmed in the second half by a Brentford side finally playing with some pace and skill, breaking the deadlock with a fine volley from Stuart Dallas on the edge of the box.
Much like Blackburn at Charlton last week, they dominated the second period without killing the game off. Andre Gray could only hit the keeper when played clean through with Jota unable to convert the rebound. They were very nearly left to rue their profligacy when Paul Green's header late on forced a superb save from keeper David Button, narrowly tipping the ball over the angle of post and bar.
In the end, a well deserved victory for Brentford who are having a terrific season and are currently in fifth, well positioned for a place in the end of season play offs for promotion. Rotherham drop to 20th, just outside the relegation zone. I don't think they're a bad side, but they do lack attacking quality. Avoiding the drop would be a very good achievement for the Yorkshire club who are punching above their weight in this division.
An amusing sideshow was provided by an argument between Rotherham assistant manager Paul Raynor and the fourth official midway through the second half. The elderly gentleman in front of me demanded at length that he be sent off. Earlier in the game he enquired "WHY DON'T WE TRY SOME TRAINING?" which in a match day scenario was not exactly helpful and "AH, FUCK IT. WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT?" which is a sentiment we can all share, if not necessarily in this context. Less amusing was the vociferous bellend to my right, who consistently verbally abused Evans for his portly stature. Supporting your team does not mean abusing the opposition.
* Yeah, the third tier is called League 1. Me neither.
I went to Griffin Park for a pre-season friendly against OGC Nice in August, during which the only five away supporters in the ground were serenaded with the chant "You're just a shit type of biscuit". On that day, Alex Pritchard (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) excelled in a 3-2 win. He was also in fine form yesterday, unfortunate not to score with a second half strike that hit the post. He also had one of Brentford's best chances in a cagey first half, narrowly chipping wide after a skillful back heel.
Rotherham manager Steve Evans felt that "We should really have been out of sight by the break" by which I can only assume he meant "We missed two very good first half chances", where an overhit cross into the box prevented a tap in and a Richard Smallwood shot from ten yards was placed feebly into the goalkeeper's hands. They were overwhelmed in the second half by a Brentford side finally playing with some pace and skill, breaking the deadlock with a fine volley from Stuart Dallas on the edge of the box.
Much like Blackburn at Charlton last week, they dominated the second period without killing the game off. Andre Gray could only hit the keeper when played clean through with Jota unable to convert the rebound. They were very nearly left to rue their profligacy when Paul Green's header late on forced a superb save from keeper David Button, narrowly tipping the ball over the angle of post and bar.
In the end, a well deserved victory for Brentford who are having a terrific season and are currently in fifth, well positioned for a place in the end of season play offs for promotion. Rotherham drop to 20th, just outside the relegation zone. I don't think they're a bad side, but they do lack attacking quality. Avoiding the drop would be a very good achievement for the Yorkshire club who are punching above their weight in this division.
An amusing sideshow was provided by an argument between Rotherham assistant manager Paul Raynor and the fourth official midway through the second half. The elderly gentleman in front of me demanded at length that he be sent off. Earlier in the game he enquired "WHY DON'T WE TRY SOME TRAINING?" which in a match day scenario was not exactly helpful and "AH, FUCK IT. WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT?" which is a sentiment we can all share, if not necessarily in this context. Less amusing was the vociferous bellend to my right, who consistently verbally abused Evans for his portly stature. Supporting your team does not mean abusing the opposition.
* Yeah, the third tier is called League 1. Me neither.
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