1 min
Brentford are into the hat for the FA Cup Fourth Round after a low-key 1-0 win over fellow Championship side Stoke City at Griffin Park.
The opening half-an-hour saw neither side create any real efforts of note with Stoke’s Tyrese Campbell and Brentford’s Dominic Thompson both squandering half-chances.
But as the encounter meandered towards the interval, Emiliano Marcondes’ excellent 43rd minute free-kick dipped into the top corner to give Brentford an unexpected half-time lead.
The second-half started with more intensity but with both sides still lacking any quality in the final third – although Brentford debutant Halil Dervisoglu came close with an effort which narrowly went over.
Stoke then pushed forward in the final ten minutes in search of an equaliser with Sam Vokes firing a volley over and Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock producing a last-ditch challenge to deny Julien Ngoy.
Despite an agonising five minutes of stoppage time it was too little too late for the visitors with Brentford just about showing enough to claim the win.
Key Points
Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…
Key Moment
Emiliano Marcondes’ moment of excellence to open the scoring temporarily lifted the quality of an otherwise drab affair.
Moan of the Match
Despite the busy festive fixture period, there were too many changes to both Starting XI’s which ultimately ruined the game as a spectacle.
Talking Point
With the majority of Brentford’s side reserves and youth team players, did any of them really do enough to stake a first-team claim?
Man of the Match
Emiliano Marcondes – showed flashes of his quality and scored an excellent goal on his return to the club following his FC Midtjylland loan.
Tweet of the Match
Referee Watch
Keith Stroud (Hampshire) – didn’t have much to do in a largely uneventful encounter.
Atmosphere
Unsurprisingly low key considering the number of personnel changes and how much more important league priorities are for both sides.
Verdict
In a game instantly forgettable, the only thing to really remember is that Brentford are through to the next round.
