Report

IBO Reporter: channonite

|As Jack Stephens led the team out at the very smart but compact Gtech Community Stadium, I reflected on the fact that Brentford were only promoted via the Championship playoffs in 2021, when Saints were the established Premier League side. Now, the boot is very firmly on the other foot.

The first few minutes were action-packed around both goalmouths. Firstly, the Saints’ defence got into a tangle, dithering on the ball, which was to be a feature of the afternoon. Damsgaard burst through, one-on-one with Ramsdale, but the big guy got down quickly to make an excellent save. Then the action moved to the home end, with Walker-Peters receiving a brilliant long pass from Harwood-Bellis and only foiled by a tackle that took the player and ball out of play. Walker-Peters took the resulting corner kick, and Joe Aribo headed it onto the crossbar. Close.

Brentford then stepped up several gears, pressing Saints hard in the final third and started to force errors. One sloppy pass from Jack Stephens was very nearly picked off, but somehow it was hacked clear. Next, Wissa executed an eye-catching spin to evade a lunging tackle from Brereton Díaz and shot on target, but Ramsdale saved without fuss.

At the other end, Aribo’s run down the left wing was followed by an attempted cross, which was put behind for a corner. Smallbone took the kick, but Jack Stephens could only send his header over the bar.

Then, there was a great play involving Brereton Díaz and Aribo, who found Armstrong in the penalty area, but two defenders hustled him out of possession, and that was that.

Once again, Brentford found the Saints’ defence lacking, and a dreadful pass back from Walker-Peters left Bednarek too much to do. Damsgaard should have scored, but somehow, Harwood-Bellis got a toe to it and did just enough for Ramsdale to clutch the ball to his chest gratefully.

Before we had time to digest that mess, Saints were at it again, with Stephens playing the ball back to Harwood-Bellis, who had two forwards on him in a flash. One of them was Schade, who said thanks very much and shot, but it hit the far post and bounced out to Mbeumo, who was all on his own in the penalty area, and he made no mistake in firing beyond Ramsdale to make it 1-0, almost on the stroke of halftime.

Even then, there was time for Saints to put some pressure on Flekken in the Brentford goal. Saints won a corner, and from that, Sugawara managed a shot on target, but it was comfortably saved by the keeper. Then came the moment when Saints really should have scored. From a corner, the ball came to Armstrong, all alone, not more than four yards out, and somehow he completely missed the ball. How, how??

It was halftime and 1-0 to the hosts when it should have been 1-1. Martin was clearly not amused, as when the second half started, Archer replaced Armstrong, and Fernandez came on for another underachiever, Smallbone.

Straightaway, they both made a difference. Fernandez picked up the ball deep in his half and ran straight up the middle, picking out Archer on the left. From there to Brereton Díaz and Fernandez again and then back to Archer, who was just too close to the keeper and facing the wrong way, but that was so much more positive.

Then, just as Saints seemed more positive and doing good things, the defence pressed the self-destruct button. Ramsdale had already made two good stops this half, but even he could do nothing on the third time of asking. Walker-Peters was playing out and passed across to Stephens and Bednarek. Neither seemed sure what to do, and the end result was they had their pockets picked. Three quick passes later, it came to Mbeumo, who shot across Ramsdale for his second goal of the game to make it 2-0 Brentford. Easy.

Just before the goal, Tyler Dibling replaced Harwood-Bellis, and the formation was changed to a more conventional four at the back. Being charitable, you could argue that the players at the back had not adjusted to the change when the goal came. Still, it didn’t take long for Dibling to make his presence felt, foraging forward with defenders being left in his wake, shooting at goal and drawing a clearance, which came back to Sugawara, but he was offside.

Just as I started to feel more optimistic, the Saints’ defence did it again: They shot themselves in the foot. From an incredibly long throw-in (shades of Rory Delap there!), Brentford were gift-wrapped another goal. It was headed on at the near post, and rushing in at the far post was a totally unmarked Wissa to bundle the ball home. 3-0.

With about ten minutes left, Lallana replaced Aribo, who had a good game but had faded in the second half. It was noticeable almost immediately how vocal he was as he issued instructions and guided Dibling where to run. Lallana, Dibling, Fernandes and Sugawara made a massive difference down the right and combined a couple of times before Saints consolation goal. Dibling had the ball wide on the right, about 35 yards out. Lallana was in the centre and pointed to the youngster where he wanted the ball in open space and then set off. Dibling lofted the ball into said space, where Lallana headed it down to the advancing Sugawara, who volleyed it past Flekken for a wonderful goal. 3-1.

And that was that. It was the third loss in a row, but at least the first goal was scored. Martin now has a couple of clear weeks for the international break, during which he can think about what he will do about the defence. Carrying on as they are now is not an option.

Man of the Match

Despite the scoreline, there were plenty of positives. Ramsdale will make a difference in goal, but there were good things further up the pitch. Mateus Fernandes looks like a class act; Adam Lallana has lost nothing but pace and gained a lot of experience. Sugawara, once again, showed he was a good acquisition, but the player who had me on the edge of my seat, yelling at the TV, was Tyler Dibling, my Man of the Match (again), and this time, he lasted for 40 minutes...