EFL Championship: Brentford face Fulham in play-off final

Despite missing out on the final automatic promotion spot in the last game of the Championship season, Brentford came into the second leg of the play-off semi-final 1-0 down. The first leg was controversial for many reasons, none more so than the Rico Henry sending off.

The promising young full back was wrongfully dismissed in the second half, handing the attacking impetus to Swansea. The EFL later rescinded his red card, making him available for the return fixture.  Andre Ayew then went on to win the game with a volley late in the second half, despite missing a penalty earlier in the game.

Knowing that they had to go out and win the game in order to reach the final, Brentford came out on the front foot. A counter-attack from a Swansea freekick led to a sublime pass played by Jensen through the heart of Swansea. Ollie Watkins, unsurprisingly, made the most of the pass by slotting the ball beyond Freddie Woodman in the eleventh minute to get his twenty-sixth goal of the season.

Skill on the touchline saw Benrahma glide past Naughton like he wasn’t there

Not long after levelling the game up on aggregate, Brentford went ahead in the fifteenth minute with a goal from Marcondes. Said Benrahma found the ball on the left side in the final third, and with a beautiful in-swinging cross, found Marcondes who brilliantly headed past the keeper.

Brentford, now 2-0 up on the day, were firmly on top during the first half, so a response was needed from Swansea. A ball round the back of the Brentford defence saw Gallagher through on goal. However, the young Englishman was unable to put the ball past the keeper. Such was the pace of the match, Brentford – off the back of Gallagher’s chance – countered through Benrahma. Brilliant skill on the left touchline saw him glide past Kyle Naughton like he wasn’t there. The Algerian then drove into the box, cut inside on his right foot, and shot towards the bottom left corner. His effort hit the post, rolled along the goal line and went out for a goal kick.

The second half began with the exact same intensity. The ball found its way to Henry who was bombing down the left side, and he delivered a first-time cross into the box. On the other end of the delivery was Brentford’s record signing, Mbuemo. The winger connected with the pass with a sweet volley into the bottom corner, to all but destroy Swansea’s hopes just one minute after the break.

Ayew was a constant threat; he and Brewster linked up well

However, Swansea didn’t give up. Ayew was a constant threat to Brentford’s defence and he and Brewster linked up well to create a chance for Roberts. The full back cut inside against Henry, then forced a good save out of the Brentford keeper.

Not too long after, Ayew was again pivotal in creating another chance. The Ghanaian played a half-decent ball in behind the Brentford defence, but Janssen made a mess of the clearance. The Brentford captain attempted to backheel the ball away, but it instead fell to Brewster, who was gambling on a mistake. The young striker then coolly lobbed the ball over the on-rushing David Raya after 78 minutes, to make it 3-2 on aggregate.

Now that Swansea were just one goal away from levelling the match, the last 15 minutes were due to be interesting. However, Brentford weren’t just trying to see their lead out, the Bees chased more goals. Once again, Watkins and Benrahma were at the centre of everything. A ball down the side of the Swansea defence set Watkins free. He then pulled it back to Benrahma, who, with a great first touch, wrong-footed the Swansea defence, but was unable to put the ball away.

Brentford did enough to cement a much deserved place in the play-off final

Despite their missed chances, Brentford did enough to cement a much-deserved place in the play-off final. A feisty encounter between the two sides which saw Brentford’s manager getting manhandled by a Swansea player proved to be entertaining on and off the pitch.

Brentford now face a West London showdown against Fulham in the final, after both teams beat their Welsh semi-final opponents. Both teams are young within an inform frontline. Onomah and Kabano scored wonder goals against Cardiff and the Championship top scorer, Mitrovic, looks set to return from injury for the final.

Brentford will arrive at Wembley as the favourites, their play throughout the season is worthy of such an accolade. The Bees play amazing football and have a very potent frontline; it’s about time Thomas Frank’s side made it to the Premier League.