26 October 2024
Brentford 4 Ipswich 3
The Bees welcomed Kieran McKenna’s side to the capital with the visitors getting ever more desperate to find that elusive first win of the season since their promotion from the Championship. Thomas Frank’s side have found early goals easy to come by of late and the Tractor Boys needed to be wary of that as they locked horns at the G-tech Community Stadium.
Wissa returned from injury for the hosts while McKenna rang the changes for his side with no less than six changes to his starting line-up. An early corner saw Norgaard with a completely free header at the near post. His flick took a deflection off an Ipswich player and caused a nervy save from Muric in the visitors’ goal. There is no middle ground with the former Burnley stopper, he is either brilliant or full on Frank Spencer.
While both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening exchanges, against the run of play, the visitors took the lead. Szmodics bent the ball around Flekken from the edge of the box to send the travelling fans wild. This was not what Brentford were expecting from this game but like a wounded animal, you felt it inevitable that eventually someone would get bitten by the Tractor Boys.
Moments later the visitors doubled their lead. Chaplin turned provider as he played the ball into the path of Hirst. He showed great composure as he lifted the ball over The Bees’ keeper and into the far corner. Brentford have looked impressive at home so far this season but they were sinking without a trace in this one.
Ipswich Town really should have added a third before the interval. Brentford gave the ball away as they tried to play out from the back. Szmodics once again was bearing down on goal with only Flekken to beat. He seemed to snatch at his chance as The Bees’ stopper was able to block with his legs. McKenna’s side could have been out of sight before the half-time oranges had even been cut.
The hosts finally seemed to wake up after that incident. Lewis-Potter broke down the left and played the ball into the path of Janelt. He picked his pass perfectly to spot Wissa in the middle and the striker needed no second invite as he stroked it past Muric. Finally The Bees’ faithful had something to celebrate in the capital.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors. The transition from defence to attack for Frank’s side was really stretching Ipswich. The ball was played in behind the defence and Wissa was through on goal once again. As he looked to tuck the ball under Muric, Clarke slid in to try and prevent the goal but could only take the ball over the line with him as the hosts drew level.
When sides come up to the top-flight, all too often, the gulf in class looks massive. We saw it last season as Luton Town, Burnley and Sheff Utd all looked way out of their depth. The Hatters came closest to holding their own while the other two sides shipped more goals than a life-coach. This is something McKenna will need to address if they are to stand any chance of staying in this division.
Into the second-half and Lewis-Potter looked to break free once again but Clarke was adjudged to bring him to ground for a free kick. However, VAR reviewed the incident and decided that the foul actually happened in the area. Immediately the referee changed his mind and gave a penalty to the hosts. Mbuemo stepped up in his usual calm-fashion and slotted home.
The comeback was complete for Thomas Frank’s side. After being two goals down at home, they now led in the game for the first time. The Ipswich Town boss must have been feeling like he was on some Japanese endurance show, seeing how far his patience could be pushed before he snapped and attacked all his players like a spider monkey.
The Bees should have been out of sight as the visitors continued to gift them opportunities. Damsgaard was the first to take it around Muric but fortunately Phillips was covering and managed to clear. Then some neat football by the hosts saw the ball drop to Lewis-Potter in the box. He took one touch to steady himself before looking to sidefoot his effort home. Fortunately Ipswich got bodies in between him and the goal to block.
Wissa then had another chance to put the game to bed but his finish was poor and allowed Muric to make another save. The hosts continued to apply the pressure and the Tractor Boys were struggling to stay in this bout. Clarke’s nightmare day in the capital then got worse as he received a second yellow card to get his marching orders.
Damsgaard thought he had scored after Janelt found him in the penalty area. It was a superb save from Muric once again. Ipswich went down the other end and Davis put a teasing ball into the box. Delap got a toe to it and diverted it past Flekken to get an unlikely equaliser to silence the home faithful. The ten men had seemingly salvaged a point in the closing stages in West London.
Brentford thought they had wasted their last chance to win it when Pinnock headed down at the back post. Collins met it but drilled his shot over the crossbar. Just as McKenna’s side thought they had survived the onslaught, Mbuemo looked to bend a cross into the box, which beat everyone, to nestle into the bottom corner deep into added time.
It was heartbreaking for the Tractor Boys to concede a winner in this fashion. They had chance for one more attack and Delap tried his luck from the edge of the box, only to see his effort come crashing back off the woodwork. Brentford held on for all three points and Ipswich were left wondering what could have been.
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