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Daily Brentford Midweek Match Review: A point gained or two dropped?
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This is your Midweek Match Review, as we analyse a stalemate at the Gtech as Everton and Brentford shared the spoils. We discuss missed chances at both ends, the sad decline of Ethan Pinnock and whether a point apiece was a fair result.
Host: Daniel Toppin
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Transcript
Introduction and Match Overview
00:00:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Daily Brentford podcast with myself, Daniel, where today we'll be looking back on the one all stalemate at the GTEC against Everton on Wednesday night.
00:00:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
Just before we get going, guys, we're a brand new company, so we're looking forward for your support now in the coming season and beyond as we look to bring you the best and most in-depth coverage across the entire network.
00:00:33
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Whether this is a five-star review on your favorite podcasting platform or a recommendation to your friends, we are very grateful for any support. That we are able to receive. So let's get straight stuck into it.
Pre-game Challenges and Lineup Changes
00:00:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
And the key piece of team news pre-game, which became apparent after the last episode was recorded, was that Norgaard had indeed suffered a concussion following the challenge by Kulibali.
00:01:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
at Leicester on Friday night. It is a little bit surprising to me that he continued. Obviously, Brentford would have got a concussion shall substitute out of it, um particularly if he was taking off in that first half. Usually, it's not...
00:01:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
apparent It's not normal for a player to continue after suffering a concussion. you know The consequences could be potentially serious, um but it seemed that his that his condition deteriorated over half-time during that game, and he missed out in this one.
Player Performance and Team Depth Issues
00:01:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
That meant Jan Moliak came in with Jensen also out injured, and I thought he did a good job, I think. You can see in terms of Yamo, his technical quality.
00:01:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
i think at times, you know, as a footballer, as a young and raw footballer, he perhaps looks a little bit better than Yannelt. I think given Yannelt's experience um and his you know number of games at Premier League level and his tactical know-how I think that's what usually favors him above the likes of Yamo but I think he stepped in well and did a good job in what was a very very tough game what I would say though out of the three of them when you're talking about Norgaard, Yenel and Yamo I think Norgaard is the most important and I think any game without Norgaard in is a challenge I think we look so much better with him in the team so it was a big loss nevertheless
00:02:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
Coming on to that and with Yamo coming into the team, I think, again, we look like we had a lack of depth and options on the bench. It was only a few weeks ago where like things were improving on that front. And now, given that there's a week and a half until our next fixture, hope it will improve again.
00:02:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's difficult in these types of games. I think it's manageable against the likes of Leicester, where we can bring young players on with half an hour to go, where we can rest some of the usual 11 and when everything's going our way and we don't need to necessarily change the game in the way that we perhaps needed to here. I think it's very difficult for the like thomas for Thomas Frank in in that second half to really change the game, particularly when Everton equalised and we needed another goal. But what I would say is perhaps what he could have done is brought Fabio Carvalho on. And I think it's another...
00:03:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
Tight game where we needed a goal reminiscent at times in that second half of Spurs at home a few weeks ago. Fabio Cavalio does not get on. He does not get an opportunity to prove himself in a big game.
00:03:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it's one thing bringing him on at 3-0 up. Whenever things going your way on Friday night against Leicester, he got a goal. He got a bit of confidence out of that, hopefully. But I think... for him to really prove himself and, you know, really move up the pecking order in the side, as difficult it is with Dam's guard ahead of him, I think he really needs to be given opportunities in this type of game where perhaps we're struggling to get over the line, where perhaps we need a little bit of magic to um get us over the line. And I think,
00:04:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
it would been it It would have been that game where, you know, i thought he should have come on. I thought when Magoma came on and we conceded within two minutes of him coming on for Shada, I thought that point, perhaps Magoma can um drop deeper alongside Janelle and someone like Yamo who's on a yellow card.
00:04:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
could make way and you can have Carvalho in and around Damsgaard and see what we can do see if that sparks something else in us creatively and it's something I've raised before about Thomas Frank you know Carvalho how we meant to expect him to step up and become you know what Damsgaard is now if we don't give him those opportunities in these games, because even the last few seasons, when the likes of Damsgaard and Keane Lewis Potter weren't in the team every week, they were still getting some so some substantial minutes um in different games in the odd start here and there. so
00:04:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
I feel a little bit for Carvalho. You know, he's he's a, you know, 15, 20 million pounds signing. He left Liverpool in search of um Premier League football. He hasn't really got that here.
00:05:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
You could argue that perhaps he'd be involved in, you know, some matchday squads at Liverpool. So has he really taken a step forward in his career in terms of playing time at Brentford? I'm not sure he can say he has right now. um But I do hope we do see him soon because, you know, that that must be what we brought him in for.
00:05:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
So it's a little bit of a shame to see and it's a little bit frustrating on that front.
Defensive Woes and Speculations
00:05:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
What I would say as well is Michael Coyote, should we be seeing him start a game soon?
00:05:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
We will talk about Ethan Pinnock in this podcast, but with him looking like he might be slowing down and if Vandenberg is still going to be out for a couple of weeks, would we think of doing something like moving Christopher Iyer across?
00:05:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
giving Coyote a start right back and obviously what he can do going forward. We've we've all seen that in terms of his long throws, in terms of his ability to get down the line and put crosses in the box. um And defensively, I'm sure in training, he's been working on um defensive positioning and you know the the the tactical setup of the team. So it's something I would like to see perhaps over the next few weeks, even though we've got some difficult games coming up.
00:06:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
In regards to Everton, they were quite solid as expected. I expected this to be a difficult game and they were very good, actually. um perhaps even better, slightly better than I thought they'd be.
00:06:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Certainly a bit a big jump from how they were under David Moyes. The likes of Jake O'Brien at right back were able to nullify Kevin Sharder's aerial threat, which he normally has success on against the opposition's right back. But, you know, Jake O'Brien, you know, I think he's a centre-back by trade and,
00:06:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
You can tell um the size of him, um even compared to the likes of Tarkowski and Bramthwaite, who make for a very mean back line. Alcaraz, again, I didn't mention him in the preview, but I thought he was a good player. I think he's the same player that was out Southampton a couple of years ago when they got relegated, and I think he was one of their standout players during that season. I think he's a good player. Decore was missing out. um as a result of his wife giving birth. So we got away with one there on top of the absences that we spoke about.
00:07:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
Um, in the preview episode. Beto started up front, got in great positions, as we'll also go on to discuss um if there is any way to bring him down from the confidence streak he
Break and Advertisements
00:07:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
was on. i think he may have been having nightmares about a certain Mr Flecken last night. But as I said, we'll get on to all of that.
00:07:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
First of all, though, we'll go to a break. And in part two, we will summarise how the game played out.
00:08:40
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00:08:57
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Match Analysis: Dynamic Start and Key Moments
00:09:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello and welcome to part two of your daily Brentford podcast, analysing the stalemate against Everton at the GTEC in midweek. On this particular occasion, I thought Brentford started the game brightly.
00:09:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Both teams, you could tell that Everton were going to be harder to break down than some of our recent opponents, i.e. Leicester the other night. um I thought very early on, you know, we looked dynamic. We looked like we were creating chances in different ways. It didn't last the whole 90 minutes.
00:09:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
um But just a couple of moments of note, Kevin Shard going on a brilliant run um on that left-hand side, being three or four players, but unable to find the finish or that pass.
00:09:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
into Jan Wisser. If that had gone in, I think that would have been one of our best goals of the season, and just on how Shard had got into the position he got into and and the dribbling we saw from him. And that was the confident, fearless Shard that we want to see more and more often, and perhaps we don't see too consistently.
00:10:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
um and looked like he was very confident at getting out O'Brien. I don't know whether that is because he is a centre-back by trade. and he felt, you know, more agile um and able to go around him easier.
00:10:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
But that is something I want to see from Kevin Sharder moving forward. We also had the Wisser header from the Kevin Sharder cross. Didn't quite get the power trajectory that he would have liked. I think normally, you know, and Wisser for someone who's not the tallest of players, he's decent in those areas.
00:10:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Didn't get the power on the cross. It was a little bit of a floated cross, so perhaps a bit more difficult to do. But then as the game progressed, as Brentford did not take those early chances, albeit, you know, they weren't massive chances.
00:10:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
ka Then came the big scares. Beto going through one-on-one on two occasions in quick succession. ah first arising rising from an Ethan Pinnock slip. And I was very, very worried that when Ethan went tumbling and Beto kind of tumbled over him as well,
00:11:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
I was very worried that he could potentially get sent off in that situation. I think if Beto doesn't get up, the referee's got a decision to make. There is contact. It wasn't intentional at all from Ethan Pinnock, given that he just fell. But I think, judging by the rules of the game, if he's through on goal, denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, I think Ethan Pinnock would have seen red there and I think most strikers who aren't better may have stayed down um and tried to call for it and I think it would have been difficult in a sticky situation for Ethan Pinnock to get back from um if that was the case because ultimately he was through on goal and it's only the fact that he went on to get up again and have that big chance that there was no denial of a goal scoring opportunity.
00:11:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
The second one, I guess for the first one you could say that you know, players slip over sometimes. I saw a few Bramford players in that first half in particular, um, slip over off the ball, which is a bit frustrating.
00:12:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Um, of course, you know, defenders slipping over in particular often results in big chances, but especially when it leaves someone one-on-one, um, So it was a little bit concerning that we saw a bit of that um here and there in the first half.
00:12:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
The second one, though, i thought, again, Pinnock was caught. Nathan Collins had gone ahead to contest the aerial ball, didn't win it. But then Pinnock's got to stay in his defensive line. And the fact that Pinnock goes to try and engage an Everton attacker, but doesn't get there either. he ends up in the middle of nowhere almost. And Beto's through again. I thought it's...
00:12:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
It was sad to see, actually. It's sad to see Ethan Pinnock perhaps in decline, perhaps becoming a bit becoming a bit slower and sluggish. We saw it again in the second half. We'll go on to talk about this was perhaps the game for me where it was really confirmed that he is slowing down. I think it reminded me of a game that Ben Mee had against Chelsea, I think last season.
00:13:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
It shows how quickly it can happen. You know, it was only a couple of years ago that Ben Mee was our player of the season. And then last year, He dropped off, and again, it's happened again. Ethan Pinnock, fans player of the season last year, so consistent, so brilliant every week.
Defensive Performance and Key Saves
00:13:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
Definitely the one that outshone um ah all the other centre-backs last season. And then this season, Nathan Collins has grown so much, and Ethan Pinnock is really quite struggling. It's sad to see he's done a lot for the club. I can't criticise him. He's had injuries this season as well, and we don't know how they've affected him.
00:13:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
He's into his 30s and maybe things are just starting to catch up for him. But, you know, he's he started his career at the very lowest levels of the game, ended up in the Premier League for Brentford, you know, being a massive part at the side in that time. So if, you know, that is the end of him being at his best, um then I'm sure every Brentford fan out there is very, very grateful for him.
00:14:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
But then upstepped, despite Beto being through twice, upstepped Mark Flecken, the second one in particular. A brilliant save to deflect the ball wide.
00:14:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
And this is what we've been asking for, for Flecken. You know, he he kept us in the game. Ultimately, he was the reason why we came out of the game with a point. And, you know, he's been criticised at times for his perhaps one-on-one ability, perhaps going down too easily.
00:14:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
But he stood up to the test here and, you know, it's credit to him. And, you know, he he really deserves that point. And he was a massive part in us getting that point. And I think it's underestimated just how many saves he's had to make this season.
00:14:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
you know Even if a lot of the shots have been from quite far out, he's still got to make those saves. And I think with Mark Flecken in goal, I have that sense of feeling quite comfortable with him there generally again, um which is the same feeling I had when David Rea was between the sticks. And we didn't necessarily get um in the first three to six months of Flecken's Brentford career. So yeah another hugely confidence-boosting night for him if he needed it at all.
00:15:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
And of course, following those chances just before the break, we got the goal. and This came from a Kevin Shard, a long throw, which Everton allowed to bounce. that I think once you allow a long throw to bounce in the box, you're asking for trouble to an extent. You know, the amount of tall defenders that Everton have, it shouldn't be bouncing in their own six yard area.
00:15:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
Brian and Pumo perhaps should have scored with the first attempt hitting the bar. And then Wisser came absolutely flying in. Great and desire, great intent, and great instincts, goal scoring instincts. And that's why he's got so many goals. And that's why he's on his best individual Premier League season in terms of goals for Brentford. And it was brilliant to see.
00:16:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And it's the perfect time to score. and at And at the break, kind of get the sense that... things were going our way for once. And, you know, a lot a lot of Brentford fans would probably tell you that doesn't happen very often, you know, with the Beto missed ah missed opportunities and, you know, with with the Worcester goal at the perfect opportunity, at the perfect time, you know, fans would have been forgiven for thinking that it would be our day.
00:16:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
And that things are just going our way today, of which of course wasn't the case. Everton did come back into it in the second half. But yeah, in general, I thought it was a good first half. If you take away those two better opportunities, then you would have classed the better team. But, you know, you've got to take those into account.
00:16:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
They were massive opportunities. And perhaps we were a bit lucky to go into the break 1-0 up.
Scoring Opportunities and Challenges
00:16:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
um In terms of other chances, Whistle went close as well. I think just before his goal where he forced to save out of Pickford and it just shows the variety of finishes Whistle has. You know, this one was a curling effort from the edge of the box. He can do that too.
00:17:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
And he can also do the more scrappy stuff, which happened when we scored the goal. Let's go into the second half then. i didn't think this is as good, unfortunately. I thought we dropped off a bit and it's difficult sometimes to maintain such a level against ah a top Premier League side. And I think Everton over the last seven, eight games have shown themselves to be performing at a level of a top half side and...
00:17:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it showed in the second half. We got a bit of a scare early on when a corner from Jack Harrison seemed to, I think it may have hit the near post. It's not even really clear from the replays, but it bounced across the goal. It was cleared by Sharda. I think in those situations, and it's something we've normally been good at this season, we need to be perhaps a little bit more commanding.
00:17:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
And not allow those situations to happen because if a Everton player got their foot to it or got their head to it, you know, we would have been in real danger here. um Everton perhaps were slightly on top in terms of territory and domination, but Brentford did have an absolutely massive chance to win it with about 15 minutes to go on the clock.
00:18:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Keane-Lewis Potter rounds the keeper from a brilliant, exquisite ball back across from Mikael Damsgaard. Once again, seeing things that most players wouldn't see.
00:18:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
Most players would not recognise that pass as well. And just like the assist against Leicester the other day, brilliant ball into Keane-Lewis Potter. He almost does the hard bit. He takes it round um Jordan Pickford, but then decides to pass to Wisser.
00:18:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
Doesn't slow it home himself, which I think he should do. And, you know, a confident Keane Lewis Potter, who is perhaps in the goals and scores more goals more often, would perhaps do that. And, Then we had some confusion from certain fans. i won't name any on social media.
00:18:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Of course, this was offside because you have to have two players behind the ball. Everton only had one. it wasn't the goalkeeper. Obviously, Jordan Pitford in this situation um counts as one of those two players. In any situation, he would count as one of those two players.
00:19:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
But he was ahead of the ball, so it would have required another Everton player. um to be between Whistler and the goal line for the goal to stand. And it was a clear offside, very obviously offside. You know, Key Lewis Potter again, could he have shown more awareness? You know, he knew he had just gone round Pickford.
00:19:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
He could only see one defender on the goal line. He's got to be finishing that himself. He must be knowing that Whistler's offside. So... That's disappointing. And I guess that's a big frustration from the game. You know, we we conceded big chances ourselves, but that was also a big chance. And if we had scored that and had gone two in the lap with 10, 12 minutes left, then, you know, probably would have been, i would like to think it would have been um a very different finish to the game.
00:20:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
it then kind of became a game of crosses and a lot of them didn't quite connect. It's it's always difficult in Brentford getting to that pattern against teams like Everton, you know, with, three centre-backs essentially in the back four, um all going to be favourites to the ball the ahead of the likes of Brian Abumo and Jan Wisser, particularly when Kevin Sharder had come off the pitch.
00:20:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
So that was a bit frustrating, that's why I wanted someone like Fabio Carvalho to come in and offer something a bit different, um try and be a bit more intricate, at the patterns of play, bit more creative and I think that's just what we lacked to get that second goal and Then Everton got what they probably deserved.
00:20:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
Jake O'Brien in for his first goal for the club. Keane Lewis Potter, I don't know what he's doing at this cross. He seems to get dragged right across the goal, um marking a man, you know, further across than even Ethan Pinnock. So if he's coming in there, Ethan Pinnock needs to drop out to the left-back area. He needs to be monitoring Jake O'Brien.
00:21:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
And... and Ultimately, though, I don't think Key Lewis Potter should be putting anyone in that situation. You know, he should be leaving the player ad drifting across goals the likes of Collins and um ah look Ethan Pinnock. And he needs to be dealing with his man um in his area of the
Late Game Attempts and Missed Chances
00:21:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
pitch. And I thought it was very harsh on Paris Magoma, who is left at the far post alone with Jake O'Brien, who thumped home.
00:21:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
What I would have liked to see from Magoma is maybe a little bit more effort in trying to stop the um stop the ball from going in, you know, going up for the header with O'Brien. I know he's very, very unlikely to come out on top in that battle.
00:21:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
um just given the size of O'Brien, but you know just doing a bit more to try and put him off. um But he doesn't really challenge for it, and it's quite a simple goal from Everton's point of view.
00:21:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
And then it could have got worse. Beto ran through again, and I think this one perhaps was the worst of the lot from Ethan Pinnock. It looked like he had a head start on Beto. I don't know whether Beto's just really quick or Ethan Pinnock is really...
00:22:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
Losing his place completely, probably a bit of both. But again, Ethan Pinnock not managed to get there first. you know so You know, so many times over the years we've seen him in that situation and he does get there first. If it's Nathan Collins now, you'd expect him to get him there first. But Mark Fleck and to the rescue yet again. I think Ethan Pinnock owes him a drink or two after this one.
00:22:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Another good save, standing up strong, tipping it wide. And if Beto was in a confident um spree, as I mentioned before the game, he may well not be now following this experience.
00:22:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
Vitalian Elk. in the last minute was Brentford's only other real chance of no, a long throw from Michael Coyote, as we know he can do um He does throw it a lot further than the likes of Kevin Sharder.
00:23:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
Caused a bit of chaos again, air kick at the back post from Vitaly, and now on his favoured left foot, if he gets contact on that, who knows what could have been, but I think Ultimately, in the end, I thought we were lucky to come out of a point potentially um given, i would say, the best three or three of the best four chances of the game fell to Everton, um with the other one being the keen-lose potter whistle offside goal.
00:23:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think maybe at best it's a fair result. I think... On another day, another striker, Mark Flecker not in such good form. You know, we go 2-0 or 3-0 down here and it's very, very difficult against a side like Everton who are very difficult to beat. You know, they they can be fairly defensive. They can time waste. They can frustrate you.
00:23:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it would have been very difficult to come back if we went behind in this one. But that leaves Brentford then with one more point. But then is that still enough, you think, in terms of our aspirations of a potential European place? I still think we need to do slightly more against a better size if we're to be in that European conversation.
00:24:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
it kind of reminds me a little bit of those championship years where we're stuck between 9th and 11th for a few years. Always with about 10 to 15 games to go, we'd be about six or seven points outside the playoffs, but always...
00:24:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
It felt like it was a little bit too much at that stage in the season, too big of a gap to overcome. We need to be too consistent to to get into those places because in reality, you know, the top six or seven in the Premier League do win a fair few games. And can I see us now outscoring three of them, you know catching them up?
00:24:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
And overtaking three of them i in the next 11 games with our fixes coming up too. I'm not so sure, but we can prove, Brentford can prove me wrong, hopefully in the next few weeks, given that we've got a lot of the clubs in and around us fighting for that European space.
00:25:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
both at the g tech and away from home in the next few weeks so it's a point on the board not a bad point but i think in terms of where we want to be perhaps you can also say it's two points dropped that will do for today anyway thank you for listening to the daily brand for podcast we hope you've enjoyed today's episode and once again We'd be extremely grateful for your support as this will enable us to go bigger and better moving forwards.
00:25:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
Daily Brentford can be found on X, Instagram and TikTok under the handle at GSPN Brentford. And this podcast is also now available on YouTube on the Global Sports Podcast Network account.
00:25:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
No game this weekend. So we'll be back again next week as we look ahead to our next game at the GTEC against Aston Villa. Another big one against a potential European challenger and the nearest team to us in the table of whom we also have a game in hand over them. So until then from myself, thank you for being with me.