Brentford’s goalless draw at Leeds United may have been widely viewed as more of a case of the home side’s failure to win but it nevertheless extended the Bees’ current unbeaten run.
That now stands at an impressive eight Premier League games since their 4-0 humbling at Aston Villa – with four of those matches coming away from home and including wins over Manchester City and West Ham United.
And when considering the previous away trip prior to Villa Park also saw a 5-1 drubbing at Newcastle, it’s testament to Brentford boss Thomas Frank’s tactical flexibility to be able to go back to the drawing board and remedy the side’s travel sickness.
Granted, excuses could be made for both defeats – Newcastle flying high and Brentford facing Villa during their new manager honeymoon period but, combined with the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, a rethink was still justifiable.
For instance, Brentford had worryingly conceded two or more goals in seven of their opening 14 league games as well as conceding frustrating late goals at Fulham, Newcastle and Forest.
With this in mind, it was perhaps a blessing Brentford’s next away game was at Manchester City, forcing Frank to take a more defensive approach in an effort to contain the champions’ incessant attacks.
Switching to a 3-5-2, soaking up the pressure and catching Pep Guardiola’s side on the break proved a masterstroke as Ivan Toney struck a stoppage time winner to give Brentford their first away win of the season.
Then, sandwiched between two fantastic home results against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool was the victory at West Ham – the difference this time being a clean sheet as well as the three points.
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There’s a robustness to Brentford’s game which has only increased with the more top-flight experience their players gain – at the back Ben Mee and Ethan Pinnock have formed a formidable partnership while Christian Norgaard provides midfield steel alongside the ever-improving Mathias Jensen.
Although Leeds may be struggling this season, Brentford’s backs-to-the-wall approach made perfect sense when considering the amount of high-scoring games the Whites have been involved in, including October’s 5-2 reverse meeting in West London.
From a Bees’ perspective it may not have been the easiest to watch with the side failing to muster a single shot on target and only having 41% possession but it was effective as Leeds were comfortably contained.
The obvious downside is the approach relies on counter-attacking football, mainly via long balls, which often saw Toney isolated, dropping deeper to receive the ball as less chances were created for him to feed off.
Speaking after the game, Thomas Frank acknowledged the drawbacks, saying: “We had four or five very dangerous situations in the second-half [in which] we need to do better to create that key moment to create a 1-0 win.
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“It was a very solid away performance though, we gave nothing away and the two defeats we had against Villa and Newcastle – we learnt from that today.”
Ultimately football is about results though and winning home games while picking up points on the road is not a bad habit to have if Brentford are to ensure Premier League survival is secured for another campaign.
And with league-leaders Arsenal followed by Manchester United (League Cup Final pending) next on Brentford’s list of destinations, there’s no doubt Thomas Frank’s side are expertly set-up to give both sides an intriguing encounter.