Brentford 3-1 Swansea City, Championship Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg: report, ratings and verdict

VS.

Brentford 4-3-3

3

1

Swansea City 3-4-3

Half Time: 2 - 0 Griffin Park ( Attendance: NA (BRENTFORD WIN 3-2 ON AGGREGATE) )
1 min

Brentford are heading to Wembley for the Championship Play-Off Final after overturning a 1-0 Semi-Final First Leg deficit to beat Swansea City 3-1 at Griffin Park.

The Bees turned the tie on it’s head within the first 15 minutes – Ollie Watkins opening the scoring with a slotted finish before Emiliano Marcondes headed in a second.

With the game flowing end to end, Swansea nearly replied immediately through Conor Gallagher only for his effort to be excellently parried away by Brentford keeper David Raya before the ensuing counter-attack ended with Said Benrahma hitting the post.

Brentford then appeared to put the contest out of sight just one minute after the restart as Bryan Mbuemo volleyed home Rico Henry’s fantastic cross from six yards out. 

At the other end Raya once again denied Swansea as Connor Roberts cut back inside and tried to curl one into the top corner before Pontus Jansson made a huge 77th minute error to give Swansea a lifeline.

The Swede’s scuffed clearance presented Rhian Brewster with an opportunity he duly took, chipping  Raya but despite a nervous final few minutes, Brentford defended resolutely to seal the win.

Key Points

Check out all the key talking points and reaction from London Football Scene below…

Key Moment

Ollie Watkins opener set the tone for not just his night but Brentford’s and provided the perfect momentum to go on and claim a huge win.

Moan of the Match

Brentford didn’t make it easy for themselves late on with Pontus Jansson’s bizarre attempt to clear the ball gifting Rhian Brewster a goal to set-up a nervy finish.

Talking Point

Brentford will face either Fulham or Cardiff at Wembley – will the Bees be able to break their hoodoo and finally gain a promotion via the Play-Offs?

Man of the Match

Said Benrahma – was his usual sensational self, assisted Marcondes’s header with a lovely lobbed cross and probably should have scored himself.

Tweet of the Match

Referee Watch

Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire) – did an excellent job in a very high stakes match and got pretty much every decision spot on.

Atmosphere

Griffin Park never got it’s proper send off but at least it got a great game of football to remember.

Verdict

Brentford were sensational and they absolutely deserve to be playing at Wembley after a fantastic season.

Line Ups

Brentford 4-3-3

Raya; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Jensen, Norgaard, Marcondes (Dasilva, 77); Mbuemo (Canos, 76), Watkins, Benrahma

Subs not used:

Daniels, Valencia, Dervisoglu, Jeanvier, Fosu, Zamburek, Roerslev

Booked

Dalsgaard, Benrahma

Swansea City 3-4-3

Mulder; Naughton (Celina, 77), Van der Hoorn (Cabango, 46), Guehi; Roberts, Fulton (Dhanda, 46), Grimes, Bidwell; Gallagher, Ayew, Brewster

Subs not used:

Gould, Rushesha, Garrick, Dyer, Kalulu, Cullen

Booked

Dhanda, Cabagno, Ayew, Roberts

Hire Us

Like what we do? Get in touch and see what we can do for you!

Support Us on Patreon

Find out more about us here and if you like our articles please check out our Patreon page.