Post Match Thread Rotherham 0-2 Brentford

[BFC1997]

First and foremost, a great result.

The lineup was surprising, but in truth it was a matter of time before; we tried something else at right back, and we found a way to get Forss and Toney in the XI. Brave to test the waters in a midweek away at Rotherham.

First half we found it a bit tough. Credit Rotherham, they gave everything and in the first half we were just frustrated. Toney even ended up dropping back into the Pirlo role to get on the ball! But again, as with Friday, even when we weren’t having it all our own way the signs were there that we were on it.

Second half, they couldn’t keep up the pace. We started to strangle back the midfield. At that point there was only one winner. Their only way of containing us was to foul. The penalty and red card was not a surprise.

In the end, comfortable and great to see another B team debut with Pressley.

AND.... A word on Fosu as well. Decent performance individually but more importantly, I think he performed a tactical role well and was key to unlocking more from Mbeumo. Rotherham could not double up on Bryan because Fosu was capable of constantly overlapping and using his pace to get him out of trouble if caught up the pitch. He might not be the defender Henrik is but in games like tonight you need an attacking threat from both full backs. In the end, both players were heavily involved in our opener and we were stretching them.

 

[hardybee]

Much better second half. We kept going, Rotherham struggled and had to continuously foul, it was inevitable they were going to have a player sent off. It’s a very good win and we still haven’t clicked. Lots of positives and I did say at half time Fosu wasn’t up to scratch, stepped up in the second half.

 

[Mark Bonner]

Really pleasing wins these last two. We do seem to have added some steel and are winning the tough ones we were losing a season or two ago. Janelt and Forss are real prospects, as is Toney really. Despite 13 in 13, he's just getting started. What I really feel happy about is the players who aren't on it as yet are proven to be great players. I wouldn't be surprised if we are top by January.

 

[vcmazz]

The beauty is we're 2 points off the top and not out of first gear yet. Here's my prediction. Champions.

 

[Wooburn Bee]

Much better second half. We kept going, Rotherham struggled and had to continuously foul, it was inevitable they were going to have a player sent off. It’s a very good win and we still haven’t clicked. Lots of positives and I did say at half time Fosu wasn’t up to scratch, stepped up in the second half.

Very much a new position for Fosu but as long as he gets defensive side of position right he is a threat down the right wing which also helps free up space for Mbeumo. Will be more of an issue against the top sides in division when faced with a higher quality wide left attacker

 

[Invipai]

Very, very well drilled Rotherham side did everything they could to stifle us, but we eventually got through with an increased tempo while moving the ball along quicker.

These are the exact sort of games that we've been losing 0-1 over the last year and a half, so it's good to turn one of them into a 2-0 win. We have many more games like this coming over the course of the season with some of the managers in charge, so finding that grit to win here is promising.

Forss and Toney together worked well, as did Fosu at RB. Slightly more energy and buzz about them. Unfortunate for Forss that Toney has been so good, but he does deserve to be on the pitch so it will be interesting to see how long he carries on playing out wide for.

A very positive win, Rotherham should stay up IMO. There are worse teams who aren't as well organised than them.

 

[AB]

Really pleasing wins these last two. We do seem to have added some steel and are winning the tough ones we were losing a season or two ago. Janelt and Forss are real prospects, as is Toney really. Despite 13 in 13, he's just getting started. What I really feel happy about is the players who aren't on it as yet are proven to be great players. I wouldn't be surprised if we are top by January.

Yes, we seem to have developed the knack of grinding out results even through the dull patch (before Barnsley it was looking dour and dire, but we built on recapturing our defensive strength then to take three wins with the confidence we could wait for our chances). Only 2 points off top and with another couple of wins in the coming week looking ominous for Norwich...

 

[Cham]

Rotherham will take points of good teams.. our second half was excellent and we could have had more.. Forss & Toney worked hard together.. Fosu did his job competently and is now a real option for us.

 

[Ken Richardson]

Well deserved win. Up to 4th lads looking good. Can see us taking 6 points from the next two home games.

 

[beebopalula]

Another grinder but that's how you get promotion. Solid defence and take a chance when it comes. You will maybe get 10 great performances out of 46. The rest will be like this.

 

[Beecareful]

Well grafted in the first half and an excellent performance in the second.

Toney seems a really good guy and was helping and supporting Forss - not all 'star' centre forwards would do that. Top duo.

Janelt is a bit special. Really pleased for Forss - and what a great command of English!

PS : And England won the t20 too!!!

 

[Stanley]

Great performance given it was a cold Tuesday night up north against a tough and at times very cynical side. We are in the middle of this relentless schedule of games in an extraordinary season so no problem with me if we are giving very solid and professional rather than spectacular performances.

The key over theses last few games has been the return of Pontus and one of the most unforgiving defences we have had in years. We are always likely to score and keeping clean sheets gives us the base to keeping patient until we do so.

Plan C tonight from TF, top man.

 

[unBEEliveable]

Rugby 0 - 2 Football

Another clean sheet away from home even with a stand in right back!

Even if the performances aren't yet hitting the heights we are grounding out results and that's what can ultimately get you out of this league.

On to Saturday and I hope the lucky ones get to see another positive result.

 

[Leicester Bee]

Superb performance by the lads again. Rotherham were very good in the first half in terms of frustrating us but I thought we looked a little off the pace.
I've said, frequently, that we don't deal with physical, niggly sides very well, but I'm genuinely starting to feel that we are learning and coping. For me, Janelt makes the difference. He's not the finished article yet but he's tenacious and physical. Once Norgaard returns, those two players alone will provide the midfield solidity that we need.
Yet again, Rico puts on another outstanding performance, whilst Fosu didn't look out of place at right back, which effectively reduced the threat on the wings where Rotherham were known to be strong.
Mbeumo is definitely starting to recover his confidence, surging forward on a few occasions to great effect. So happy for him because we know what he's capable of but has barely shown it since the return after the first lockdown.
Forss had a couple of chances in the first half that I was confident he'd put away but failed to do so. But he never let his head drop and his finish for his goal was superb. Perhaps the fact that he played more like an inside forward helped him, because he's such a different type of striker to Toney and looks far less likely to play with his back to goal, but he moves forward well and fills in gaps when Toney works so hard in other areas of the pitch.
And Toney......what a player we have. Strength, draws fouls and doesn't react to them, links up play, strong in the air, composed, vision, and scores goals. In essence, the perfect striker. And I don't think he's quite up to speed yet.
We must give credit to Frank and the coaching staff. The Benrahma sized hole still affects us, but we are miserly at the back, we are solid in midfield, we grind out results, and there's more to come. Frank made key changes in the QPR game, made subtle but effective changes against Rotherham, and he manages the squad well to keep the team in good shape. If we can survive the immense schedule in December and make a couple of additions in January, I can see the team creating more chances in the second half of the season, gelling into the attacking force that made us so fearsome last season. The key is ensuring that we can battle with those types of teams that gave us the reputation of having a soft underbelly. In recent weeks, we are undoubtedly starting to shed that reputation and once our attack really kicks in, we'll be unstoppable.

 

[A Real Mysteron]

This is now a team that can be promoted.
A less flashy, grittier team that can grind out results where previous Brentford teams couldn’t.
I think in Vitaly we have found the “Tim Sparv” that we have never previously had.

 

[mhead bee]

First half horrible. Football completely out the window, sloppy passes and long balls. Awful to watch and where had my Brentford gone.

Second half we outmuscled them and the individual quality came through and another 3 points in a game we would have lost last year.

rotherham did nothing but foul, 21 given and the ref played on quite a bit and missed about 10. Really should have had 6-7 yellows before the second player finally got one.

We are grinding out results but it ain’t pretty. If we aren’t careful the press will stop loving little old Brentford,

 

[jlove]

This seems to be the strategy against these sides that try to make it difficult to play our expansive game – don't. We defend and, given the attritional schedule, make the opposition work hard. After 60-odd minutes, it all begins to fall apart for them and we step up, get ahead and then shut the door with the additional substitutions.

We defended so well, even with Fosu's throw-in technique, and plugged the gaps that gave Rotherham some early opportunities, with Janelt restricting their second-ball game. Jensen produced some brilliant play and, as they opened up a bit, took control in midfield with some exceptional passing... a pity about his free kicks, though. Dasilva still looks like he needs a couple of weeks R&R, a shadow of his former self.

I'm not convinced that Toney and Forss playing together is the answer but, given the lack of quality on the left, it paid off. It also allows Mbeumo a freer role, with Fosu able to get up and back quickly.

It may not be the prettiest but it does seem to be very effective. Four away games, 10 points, 6 goals scored, 0 goals conceded.

 

[tinman]

If we have to play the way we did tonight so be it. We all enjoyed the way we played last season, but we now have to play to strength of the players we have at our disposal. It’s a shame Canos was brought down as a goal would have done wonders for his confidence. An assist will help.

 

[jlove]

... It’s a shame Canos was brought down as a goal would have done wonders for his confidence. An assist will help.

Their 'keeper was right on him so I doubt he would have scored if he hadn't been hauled down.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Mbeumo is definitely starting to recover his confidence, surging forward on a few occasions to great effect. So happy for him because we know what he's capable of but has barely shown it since the return after the first lockdown.

Very good analysis all round, LB, esp the bit above.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Dasilva still looks like he needs a couple of weeks R&R, a shadow of his former self.

Another very good analysis, esp the above.

 

[upnorthbee]

Rotherham wont go down playing like that. It's not pretty but more than matched us in the first half with their tactics. I can't remember seeing that many fouls from the opposition in a long time?

Second half I enjoyed a lot more although as many have said, we're not at our best right now... or has a lot of our flair actually disappeared to West Ham?

Raya- Did everything right, so glad he stayed with us in the end
Fosu- Lovely ball for the goal and a good option for RB (although looked more comfortable higher up the pitch)
Pontus- Solid
Ethan- Solid
Rico- Premier league quality who will either be playing with us in the prem next season, or someone else
Da Silva- Off form at the moment, maybe bring in Marcondes on Saturday
Janelt- The player we needed, really looking forward to him being joined by CN in the middle
Jenson-So much quality when he's on the ball, wish he was more involved but a good 2nd half performance
Bryan- Not at it yet, but you can see he's slowly getting more confident
Toney- A leader in every sense of the word, will be more important to us than Ollie was
Forss- I'd do that again, the alternative is Canos/Ghoddos at this point, and I know who i'd prefer. Well taken goal too

Pressley- Great to see another B teamer come in
Marcondes- Tidy, good passing
Canos- More huff and puff, keep trying lad you'll get there! I'm glad he was brought down in the box because I think his touch had already let him down. For me, there's already but gulf in quality between Canos and Forss... Sorry.
Ghoddos- Looks like he needs to lose a few KG's to me?

 

[JANORAK]

Agree with most of the above.
For once, decent reffing away from home (Robinson?). Their sending off was inevitable 2nd half, as the cards continued to flow in our favour. Much like the course of the game overall.
I wish IT would take more than one and a half steps in his penalty routine. I get the heebies every time I see it!
Nice to see FloJo hugging Peter G at the end.
Shame there aren’t many more Yorkshire teams to play this season....

 

[EGHAM_BEE]

Was a tough night. Couldnt get any kip early doors so got up and and watched cricket and Mosconi Cup to keep me awake til 4am. Was tired frustrated and grumpy up to half time. I was one of the ones wanting IT and MF to play together but must admit I wasnt sure at HT as it felt like it was affecting Toneys input in the game. The whole performance improved after the break with a more direct approach and it was a great win. I still feel something wasnt quite right with the positioning of the 2 together but definitely a lot to work with and if we get it right its another superb option for us which will make us harder to work out as the season goes on.

 

[Hungerford Bee]

Just over a quarter of the season gone and we have 3 wins in South Yorkshire. It used to take us about 3 seasons to rack up that many.

 

[YorkBee]

Well done Ivan Toney for not reacting to the thuggery coming his way, and the lay off to Forss was sublime. I just wish the pundits would recognise the work of Rico who was again my MoM. as others have said maybe even last season we would have lost that or maybe drawn as our defence is so much tighter. Cant wait to see us play a team that dont employ sh*thouse tactics and blatantly foul at every opportunity. We now have a few different plans we can employ against varying tactics against us, and one last thing. Can someone plesae take Fosu aside and teach him how to restart the game legally from a throw in because he got pulled once last night but to be honest it could have been 4 or 5 from the throws I watched.

 

[Beecareful]

great posts - keep 'em coming!!!

 

[Rob-BEE]

Poor first half, much better in the second when the game seemed to open up a touch and we found a bit more space in the final third. Couldn't really tell if TF changed something at HT, or maybe Rotherham decided to be a bit more adventurous, but either way something clicked for us.

Jury is still out on Forss playing with Toney in my view. Clearly it paid off in one sense as he scored a goal that probably nobody else in the club would have scored (apart from Toney himself of course, but he set him up!). But to me he looked exactly like a centre forward who was asked to play out wide, and as a result we lacked the creativity that we should get from someone in that position picking the ball up deeper and picking passes or dribbling at defenders. The problem there, of course, is that we haven't replaced Benrhama (in a quality sense) so arguably we need to be trying something different to break down stubborn defences.

Anyway, 9 points from 9 without playing all that well, and we're in a miles better position than we were after 15 games last season. Definitely reasons to be happy and optimistic!

 

[A Real Mysteron]

This season is the one.
Probably by necessity due to the loss of Said we have become less cavalier and more pragmatic.
We aren’t going to Larrup anybody 7-0 this season, but by the same token from this point on I can’t see is losing 0-1 to anti football dross as we previously have.
We seem to have wised up.
We may not get the widespread plaudits of last season, but we will end up with more points.

 

[Delbee]

Last season we had the BMW this years we are the FT ( Financial Time) May have to buy one to see if they do football reporting

 

[SlumanBee]

Really enjoyed the game like the QPR one - thought Rotherham looked dangerous early on but Pontus was really on it as was Raya. As the game wore on Rotherham had to resort to fouling Toney 10 times (no exaggeration) amongst other very cynical fouls, thought the Ref eventually had had enough.

Fosu was poor in the first half but give him credit, he came back well and it was an excellent deep cross to an open Toney with Forss peeling off early, by that point it was too late for the defenders to react and a very smart goal indeed. The second goal was definitely coming as they opened up, a blatant penalty and second yellow although why Sergi didn't shoot beforehand i guess we will never know... great penalty to finish it. A third was there too.

Great fairly comfortable away win and agree with others that we aren't running anywhere near the levels of last season still in an attacking sense. Defensively we have been pretty great it has to be said. Frank tried something last night and it paid off, so props to him for that. It might make us a bit less predictable if we can find something else to switch to. I think that will be really important because if we look disjointed in the final third compared to last year, we need to have a plan B this year.

 

[Phreebee]

Pontus is up for it at the moment. His, Toney’s and Janelt’s physicality make a huge difference on a Tuesday night away from home. Their attitude seems to motivate the rest. But we also have Ethan. Mr Cool next to Mr Angry.

 

[IslandBee]

A really gritty performance with lots of good second half displays. Fantastic that we are now grinding our results like that on a regular basis

I'm a bit of a broken record on the negatives sorry to say - Jensen was again very much the weakest link IMO. He worked hard and showed glimpses but overall I still don't think he is contributing nearly enough given his undoubted talent.

 

[Bigbee]

Didnt Jensen play mainly on the right ? He's better central

 

[Griffin]

We played beautiful football last season and didn't go up so I don't mind just getting the points at this stage of the season. I would agree that we don't seem to even try and play our game against sides that are physical and stop us playing. I love Janelt and the breaking up he does, what a find he is. Special mention to Fosu who I thought had a very good game both offensively and defensively.

 

[nathanbee]

This season is the one.
Probably by necessity due to the loss of Said we have become less cavalier and more pragmatic.
We aren’t going to Larrup anybody 7-0 this season, but by the same token from this point on I can’t see is losing 0-1 to anti football dross as we previously have.
We seem to have wised up.
We may not get the widespread plaudits of last season, but we will end up with more points.

As long as we don't end up a Karankar stlye team! That would be awful.

 

[johndub]

A really gritty performance with lots of good second half displays. Fantastic that we are now grinding our results like that on a regular basis

I'm a bit of a broken record on the negatives sorry to say - Jensen was again very much the weakest link IMO. He worked hard and showed glimpses but overall I still don't think he is contributing nearly enough given his undoubted talent.

I think we must have been watching different games, IslandBee. I thought Jensen had a very solid game and showed a number of nice touches as well as a good work rate. Deserves his place in the team on current form.

 

[IslandBee]

I think we must have been watching different games, IslandBee. I thought Jensen had a very solid game and showed a number of nice touches as well as a good work rate. Deserves his place in the team on current form.

Yep, I know, there are a number of posters who share your view and I thought they must be watching different games as well

I genuinely have nothing against Jensen, really want him to succeed and don't watch looking for mistakes - I am just not seeing what some others are regarding his contribution. Perhaps my expectations are too high ie I think he is capable of delivering more than he is

 

[West Wilts Bee]

I think we must have been watching different games, IslandBee. I thought Jensen had a very solid game and showed a number of nice touches as well as a good work rate. Deserves his place in the team on current form.

Agree with you, Jenson did give the ball away a few times. But playing in the middle you will not win every ball. But he also made some neat telliing passes he is a better player than some on here give him credit for.

 

[West Wilts Bee]

Yep, I know, there are a number of posters who share your view and I thought they must be watching different games as well

I genuinely have nothing against Jensen, really want him to succeed and don't watch looking for mistakes - I am just not seeing what some others are regarding his contribution. Perhaps my expectations are too high ie I think he is capable of delivering more than he is

Also agree with you. He is definitely capable of upping his game.

 

[Sultan]

First time this season I've been able to watch a game on iFollow successfully on my TV last night. Child Safe protection was on and blocking iFollow on my WiFi. Pretty dull first half, fell asleep at half time, woke up just after Forss had scored. Good three points against the northern cloggers.

 

[West Wilts Bee]

Teams that have thought they have sussed us out, will have to go back to the tactics board.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Last season we had the BMW this years we are the FT ( Financial Time) May have to buy one to see if they do football reporting

Sorry, but you may need to come up with another soubriquet - Fozzy and Bob got there first.

 

[mhead bee]

Yep, I know, there are a number of posters who share your view and I thought they must be watching different games as well

I genuinely have nothing against Jensen, really want him to succeed and don't watch looking for mistakes - I am just not seeing what some others are regarding his contribution. Perhaps my expectations are too high ie I think he is capable of delivering more than he is

He is a top quality player and now a starter for his country who beat England recently.

 

[nick logan]

He is a top quality player and now a starter for his country who beat England recently.

Island Bee knows his togger but i i am with you. Love watching him play

 

[kingwood bee]

Agree with most of the above.
For once, decent reffing away from home (Robinson?). Their sending off was inevitable 2nd half, as the cards continued to flow in our favour. Much like the course of the game overall.
I wish IT would take more than one and a half steps in his penalty routine. I get the heebies every time I see it!
Nice to see FloJo hugging Peter G at the end.
Shame there aren’t many more Yorkshire teams to play this season....

Loved the penalty Toney is so confident no need to worry about how many steps he takes

 

[IslandBee]

He is a top quality player and now a starter for his country who beat England recently.

Thanks, but I will need a little more than your assertion and a statement of fact to convince me. He is undoubtedly a skilful and able player but he needs to demand the ball more, protect it better when he receives it and contribute a greater amount to the team as an attacking force - that, after all, is what he is in the team to do.

 

[Rob-BEE]

A really gritty performance with lots of good second half displays. Fantastic that we are now grinding our results like that on a regular basis

I'm a bit of a broken record on the negatives sorry to say - Jensen was again very much the weakest link IMO. He worked hard and showed glimpses but overall I still don't think he is contributing nearly enough given his undoubted talent.

I actually thought Jensen had a good game. He was filling in all over the pitch, particular at right back in the first half when Fosu got forward, and linked up play very well. Nothing spectacular, and his free kicks were poor, but in general a solid contribution. I guess we all see things, or notice things, differently.

 

[WARFIELD BEE]

Very impressed with Janelt again, what a player he is going to be, have we lost a game that he has started?

 

[Sussex Sage]

Because we know what a quality player Jensen is I think we're surprised if he loses possession or delivers poor set pieces (as last night). I think he, Josh and Vitaly all deserve their places in our starting line-up but TF will have good options when Noorgard and Baptiste are both fit. Thought Fosu did well last night apart from a couple of poor passes first half and his footwork and cross for the first goal were top drawer. The way Rotherham kept fouling Toney was shameful but he certainly had the last laugh. Overall, a gutsy win and hopefully confirmation that we're no longer a bunch of soft southerners who can be rolled over by northern hackers.

I actually thought Jensen had a good game. He was filling in all over the pitch, particular at right back in the first half when Fosu got forward, and linked up play very well. Nothing spectacular, and his free kicks were poor, but in general a solid contribution. I guess we all see things, or notice things, differently.