26 January 2025
Crystal Palace 1 Brentford 2
It has been quite an inconsistent season for The Eagles, unable to put a string of results together. Draws are starting to hurt them, they need to start finding a way to turn them into victories. They welcomed Brentford to Selhurst Park, a side whose away form had been dreadful in the main. It all made for an interesting derby in the capital.
Glasner’s side have only won two home games this season, a big part of their problems this campaign. In the past they had always made this a difficult place to visit, not so much this season. The Eagles started well and a pass was fed into Mateta. He only had one thing on his mind as he fired off a venomous strike but Flekken did well to turn it over the crossbar.
Brentford’s strength comes from their attacking threat. They looked to get forward and it was fed into Wissa, with his back to goal outside the box. He dropped his shoulder and got a shot away that appeared to be heading into the bottom corner but Henderson got down well to tip the effort around the post to keep the scores level.
The rain was hammering down, making for tricky conditions for both goalkeepers. Mbuemo exchanged passes with Roerslev and the defender was wiped out by Lacroix. The Palace player was shown a yellow card for the challenge. It gave The Bees a free kick in a dangerous position, some five yards outside the box, wide of the goal.
Mbuemo stepped up to take but his shot went well wide. He has been in fine form this season and you would expect him to have at least worked the keeper from there. Both teams were struggling to create clear-cut chances in the half. A draw would do neither side any favours and neither side is really keeping clean sheets for fun this season.
Frank was frantically makes notes sat in the dugout. You would like to think it was tactical tweaks he could make to exploit The Eagles. For all we know, he could have been penning his memoirs. The game needed a goal, about as much as the fans in the ground needed umbrellas. It was a cold, wet afternoon at Selhurst Park.
Whether it be a mistake, or a moment of brilliance, both sets of fans were craving a goal by this stage. Neither side are flirting with the bottom three but sometimes mid-table mediocrity can be even more frustrating for the supporters. Eze is the lynchpin for this Crystal Palace side but Brentford had managed to keep him very quiet.
After the interval, the visitors got themselves into trouble trying to play out from the back. Eze nipped in to steal the ball and headed towards goal. As he skipped past a challenge he was upended and the referee immediately awarded the hosts a free-kick just outside the box. Always a danger when you have a player like the Palace playmaker on the pitch.
Eze stepped up to take it and his effort took a slight deflection off the wall. With the keeper wrong-footed, he could only watch as the shot struck the base of the post and went wide. That was the closest we had come to a goal in the game. Despite this, you would struggle to find a fan in the ground who would have bet on this match ending goalless.
Brentford started to try and get the ball into Mbuemo more. He took it around Hughes and clipped a cross into the box from the byline. The hosts just could not get it clear and Damsgaard tried his luck from the edge of the box. It seemed to be heading into the top corner but Henderson reacted well to turn it over the bar.
The Bees continued to pile the pressure on the hosts. In the wet conditions, it made everything far more difficult. Collins looked to win a 50/50 and was upended by Lacroix. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Mbuemo stepped up and hit the post. Then there was a long wait as the referee wanted VAR to check the incident.
The review process came to the aid of the visitors. It was deemed that Gueye had encroached into the box before the spot kick had been taken. As a result, the referee ordered for it to be taken again. Mbuemo made no mistakes this time as he slotted home in the opposite side of the goal. The away end celebrated as boos echoed out from the rest of the ground, aimed towards the officials.
The rain refused to let up and neither did Brentford. Damsgaard’s cross was headed home by Schade as it seemed the visitors had sealed victory with little time left. It had not been the best of games but that did not matter to the travelling fans, not that they had come far for this one. All they had to do now was see this game out.
Glasner made some changes, bringing on new signing Esse. The Eagles threw players forward, desperately trying to find a goal. As a ball was played into the back post, Munoz squared it back across goal. Their new addition from Millwall was there to flick the ball into the net as Selhurst Park erupted. There was newfound belief they could get something from this game.
Despite eleven minutes of added time, Crystal Palace could not find another goal. The visitors came closest to scoring when a cross was almost turned into his own net by Mitchell, nobody was more pleased to see it come off the post. Brentford took the three points, moving them four points clear of their London neighbours.
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