Brentford 3-1 Burnley: Clarets the nearly men once again as they suffer another defeat

The Clarets look to have salvaged a late point when Zian Flemming levelled from the penalty spot just a few minutes after the Bees had broken the deadlock with a spot kick of their own.

But Igor Thiago, the scorer of Brentford’s first, slammed home a second to win the game for the Bees - with all three goals coming inside a crazy five-minute spell.

Dango Ouattara then added a third in stoppage-time when Burnley were chasing the game, leaving huge gaps of space in behind.

Prior to that, the game remained finely balanced right up until the 81st minute, when Keith Andrews’ side edged their noses in front.

The encounter was sorely lacking in quality though, but it appeared Scott Parker’s side were happy to settle for a point - but in the end they emerged empty-handed once again.

Parker made some big calls with his team selection, dropping two big names.

Jaidon Anthony dropped down to the bench, which didn’t come as a major surprise to many Burnley fans given his poor run of form.

After starting the season well, with four goals in his first six games, he’s slowly but surely struggled to make an impact, going the next six games without scoring.

But Lesley Ugochukwu was also taken out of the starting XI, which did take a few by surprise. Hannibal and Lyle Foster were the two to come into Burnley’s starting line-up.

Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and Zeki Amdouni all remain sidelined.

As for Brentford, they made just one change to their side from last week’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton, as Mathias Jensen came in for Yehor Yarmoliuk.

With Ugochukwu missing out, that did spark some concern among fans about the Clarets missing the midfielder’s height and physicality.

Indeed, with just 10 seconds on the clock, the home faithful were cheering as their side won an early long throw, which was predictably hurled straight into the Burnley box - but thankfully Martin Dubravka was able to claim confidently.

The Clarets continued to come under aerial attack, but they stood up to the task well and were able to slow the game down and manage the early pressure.

As a result, Burnley were able to slowly but surely grow into the game, leading to an early penalty appeal when a Quildinschy Hartman knockdown header hit the hand of a Brentford defender. But given he was only a yard or two away, it would have been incredibly harsh had it been given.

The Bees soon threatened though, as former Claret Nathan Collins - the subject of some boos from the away end - glanced a header wide from a corner, with Dubravka opting to stay on his line.

Controversy ensued in the 16th minute when Hannibal went down in the box after Brentford had given the ball away passing out from the back. But rather than award a penalty, referee Sam Barrott penalised the Burnley midfielder for a dive, also showing a yellow card.

It looked to be the correct decision upon watching it back on replay, which begs the question why Hannibal didn’t shoot with the goal at his mercy.

The hosts hit back with a presentable chance of their own, as Igor Thiago steered over the Burnley upright at the near post.

Mikkel Damsgaard then drove a rising shot over the Burnley bar as the game began to open up a little at both ends of the pitch.

While Burnley were beginning to see more of the ball, Brentford looked relatively comfortable defending and the visitors looked a little short on ideas.

The game still remained finely balanced though, with Burnley threatening through Axel Tuanzebe, who nearly stabbed home from six yards out after meeting Josh Cullen’s free kick, only to be denied by the keeper. The linesman’s flag also subsequently went up.

With three minutes remaining of the first half, Zian Flemming tested Caoimhin Kelleher with a left-footed curler from range, but the former Liverpool stopper pushed it clear.

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With both sides emerging unchanged for the second half, you expected something of a reaction from the home side after an underwhelming first 45 minutes.

They could have edged their noses in front after the restart though, Aaron Hickey blazing high and wide after the ball had fallen kindly for him inside the box.

The Bees did have the ball in the back of the net a few moments later through Dango Ouattara after Dubravka had thwarted Thiago, but the celebrations were short-lived with the linesman immediately raising his flag. Replays showed the Brentford man was comfortably offside too.

Ouattara was again involved in the thick of the action, glancing a header inches wide of the far post as Burnley came under heavy pressure.

While Burnley were able to stem the flow a little, Thiago squandered another presentable chance when he volleyed well over on the turn.

Hannibal, somewhat unsurprisingly, was the first Burnley player to be brought off given the disciplinary tightrope he was walking, with Ugochukwu the beneficiary.

Later on, Josh Laurent, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Jaidon Anthony all entered the fray as Parker sensed fresh legs were required.

Burnley sensed they could hold on for a point or perhaps even snatch something on the break, but those hopes were dashed with 10 minutes remaining when the home side were awarded a penalty.

On first viewing, it looked like a fair decision, with Axel Tuanzebe getting the wrong side of Ouattara and bringing him down as he surged through on goal. But replays showed the defender got a clear foot on the ball.

Despite a lengthy VAR review, the penalty stood, and Thiago stuck away the resulting spot kick, sending Dubravka the wrong way from 12 yards.

Parker instantly responded, introducing Armando Broja off the bench in place of Josh Cullen, in one last roll of the dice.

The drama didn’t end there though, with the Clarets awarded a penalty of their own in the 85th minute when substitute Jaidon Anthony was clearly swiped down to the ground by Michael Kayode.

Zian Flemming kept his composure to send Kelleher the wrong way to score for the fourth time in his last three away games.

The visitors weren’t level for long though, with Brentford restoring their lead barely a minute later as Thiago grabbed a second.

Kyle Walker failed to deal with Jordan Henderson’s cross at the back post, allowing the ball to bounce for Thiago to slam home high into the roof of the net.

The game was finally put beyond Burnley in stoppage time when Ouattara got in on the act, slipping the ball past Dubravka after getting beyond Maxime Esteve.

TEAMS

Brentford: Kelleher, Hickey (Henry), van den Berg, Collins, Kayode, Henderson, Jensen (Yarmoliuk), Damsgaard, Schade (Nelson), Ouattara, Thiago (Lewis-Potter)

Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Pinnock, Onyeka, Ajer, Janelt

Burnley: Dubravka, Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman, Florentino (Laurent), Cullen (Broja), Hannibal (Ugochukwu), Tchaouna (Bruun Larsen), Foster (Anthony), Flemming

Subs not used: Weiss, Pires, Ekdal, Edwards

Referee: Sam Barrott

Attendance: 17,176 (1,700 Burnley)

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