A game almost as wild as the wind it was played in ended with Brentford claiming a seventh win in eight unbeaten home games and in the process casting off the hex Newcastle had held over them: the last side to win here, on the final day of last season, the visitors became the 25th and last of Brentford’s Premier League opponents to be beaten by them.
Brentford took and lost the lead twice but when they moved ahead for the third time their grasp proved firmer, and in the final minute they made the game safe. The substitute Kevin Schade was found by Bryan Mbeumo just outside the area; his first touch took him clear of the defence, and his second sent the ball past Nick Pope.
In the first half Brentford led twice and twice they were pinned back in short order, holding the advantage for three minutes at the first attempt and four at the second. With a vicious chill wind occasionally decorated with outbreaks of rain this never seemed an occasion for demonstrations of control, and certainly neither side suggested they could produce one. It was pell-mell stuff but never less than entertaining, the tone set when Sean Longstaff, returning to the Newcastle side in place of Sandro Tonali, thundered a 20-yard drive against the meat of the crossbar in just the second minute.
In the circumstances a certain amount of errors were to be expected – the question was to what extent they would be punished. The first half brought two, one by each side, but only one took advantage. Nathan Collins was guilty of the first, failing to deal with a long ball out of Newcastle’s defence and losing it to Alexander Isak, who ran infield from the right, danced past Mark Flekken but then was so casual with his finish, as he pondered how to ensure the ball evaded the one defender standing exposed on the goalline, that the Dutchman managed to scramble back, fling out a hand and push the ball away from him.
Precisely 10 minutes later Harvey Barnes, under little pressure, sidefooted a 20-yard pass straight to Yoane Wissa, midway inside Newcastle’s half, who turned and ran with it towards the visitors’ penalty area. With neither Fabian Schär nor Dan Burn committing to closing him down he continued to the 18-yard line before curling a shot into the far corner. Fortunately for Barnes Brentford’s defence was similarly snoozy when Jacob Murphy’s pull-back found him in the penalty area in the 32nd minute, and he had time to control, turn and arrow a low shot across goal and just inside the far post to complete the teams’ second exchange of goals.
Brentford had taken the lead for the first time in just the eighth minute, after their captain, Christian Nørgaard, back in the side after missing the midweek defeat at Aston Villa, sprayed a fine pass to Mbeumo on the right. His control was sweet, Lewis Hall’s marking half-hearted, and the Cameroonian dribbled all but unmolested into the heart of Newcastle’s penalty area before finding the corner of the net. Three minutes later Isak stooped on the edge of the six-yard box to meet Murphy’s inswinging left-footed cross from the right and the teams were level again.
Eleven minutes into the second half the home side retook the lead, Collins’ beautifully calm finish incongruously crowning a classic blustery-day build-up. Flekken pumped a free-kick forward from well inside his half, Igor Thiago distracted the defence by narrowly failing to win the header, and nobody touched the ball as it bounced through to Collins, whose gentle sidefoot sent it rolling beyond the reach of Pope.
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As they chased a third equaliser Newcastle brought on Tonali, Kieran Trippier, freshly recovered from illness, and Anthony Gordon, who for the first time in more than nine months was in their matchday squad but not their starting line-up, and all were involved in their best chance to draw level. Trippier’s free-kick was half-cleared to Gordon, whose lofted pass found Isak on the right. The Swede’s cross picked out Tonali, who from eight yards headed well over the bar.
But still Brentford were more threatening, and eventually it was Newcastle who were blown away. Two minutes into stoppage time the home side nearly scored a fifth, but Dan Burn cleared off the line after Pope lingered on the ball, well outside his penalty area, and Mbeumo had stolen it off him.
