Brentford 2-1 Watford: Player ratings as Bees complete comeback in added time
By Sean Walsh
From Brentford Community Stadium - Brentford left it late to beat Watford in the Premier League, scoring twice in the final ten minutes to secure a 2-1 win.
The Bees had much of the ball on Friday night though found it hard to break their resilient visitors down, but eventually made their superiority count.
After grabbing his maiden Premier League goal last week, Shandon Baptiste nearly notched in his second of the season after two minutes, with Daniel Bachmann acrobatically tipping over his effort.
Brentford continued to have the better of the opening exchanges, with Bryan Mbeumo next to force Bachmann into a top save, cutting inside William Troost-Ekong and aiming for the top corner.
At the other end, Josh King struck the post following a quick counter attack, and Emmanuel Dennis headed home from the resulting corner as Brentford conceded from a set piece for a third successive game.
The Nigeria international was denied a penalty on the half hour mark when he was felled by Charlie Goode, with replays suggesting the Brentford defender brought him down in the box illegally.
Kiko Femenia had to be alert to block Yoane Wissa's advances deep into the Watford box on the break, before Goode headed just over from a corner.
Brentford continued to apply the pressure after the interval, with Rico Henry being denied by a Femenia block.
Bachmann and Alvaro Fernandez both had to get down low to keep the scores as they were, while Frank Onyeka's goal-bound strike was headed behind by Jeremy Ngakia.
And Brentford found their equaliser with under ten minutes remaining after Pontus Jansson headed in from a cross helped on by Marcus Forss - which was allowed after a lengthy VAR check.
Substitute Joao Pedro had to clear off the line from a corner as Brentford looked for a winner, and the Bees were awarded stoppage time penalty when Troost-Ekong tripped Saman Ghoddos.
In the absence of regular penalty taker Ivan Toney, Mbeumo stepped up to do the honours and sent Bachmann the wrong way to seal the win at the death.
Brentford player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Alvaro Fernandez (GK) - 5/10 - Had little to do other than pick the ball out of the back of the net.
Charlie Goode (CB) - 5/10 - Started a couple of counters with his passing and pressing but was also given the runaround by Dennis on occasion.
Pontus Jansson (CB) - 6/10 - Lost Dennis for the opener and was similarly on skates when the Nigerian was on the ball - but ultimately grabbed a crucial equaliser.
Vitaly Janelt (CB) - 8/10 - Looked fairly natural being played out of position. Wasn't helped by the actual centre backs looking ropey.
2. Midfielders
Mads Roerslev (RM) - 6/10 - Looked timid in his duels with Ngakia, but was hardly a liability.
Shandon Baptiste (CM) - 8/10 - Floated between the lines and was usually the source of inspiration for anything even remotely positive.
Christian Norgaard (CM) - 7/10 - Held his own against the experienced Kucka in the midfield battle.
Mathias Jensen (CM) - 6/10 - Had the game in the palm of his hands for the opening half hour or so before fading away.
Rico Henry (LM) - 4/10 - Got forward with intent but was never quite sure what to do once he got there.
3. Forwards
Bryan Mbeumo (CF) - 8/10 - Looked more lively and dangerous than in recent games and was rewarded for that from the spot.
Yoane Wissa (CF) - 4/10 - Had exciting spells but not enough of them. Grew tired as the game wore on.
4. Substitutes
Marcus Forss (CF, 68' for Wissa) - 6/10 - Starved of direct service for most of his cameo but grabbed a vital assist.
Saman Ghoddos (CM, 68' for Jensen) - 6/10 - Looked uncomfortable in midfield but caused havoc at wing back, winning the penalty.
Frank Onyeka (77', CM for Henry) - 4/10
Watford player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Daniel Bachmann (GK) - 8/10 - Two top saves proved pointless in the end.
Kiko Femenia (RB) - 6/10 - Was forced to play inside a bit more to help Watford in their struggling midfield battle.
William Troost-Ekong (CB) - 3/10 - Seemed to win every aerial duel, admittedly against two smaller strikers, but his needless challenge on Ghoddos was unforgivable.
Craig Cathcart (CB) - 4/10 - Targeted by Brentford and on another day they would have been more fortunate with their endeavours to force more errors out of him.
Jeremy Ngakia (LB) - 7/10 - Deserved to start over Danny Rose after his horror show against Manchester City last week and was pretty good value here.
6. Midfielders
Juraj Kucka (DM) - 3/10 - Looked leggy from the off.
Moussa Sissoko (CM) - 6/10 - Very good at disrupting Brentford's possession - whether cleanly or illegally.
Tom Cleverley (CM) - 3/10 - Hardly inspiring in the midfield battle despite his experience and obvious technical quality.
7. Forwards
Cucho Hernandez (RW) - 4/10 - Very quiet, unlike his all-action appearance vs Man City last week.
Emmanuel Dennis (CF) - 8/10 - The menace. Gave Brentford problems all night long either through the middle or out wide when switching with King.
Josh King (LW) - 5/10 - Provided decent support for Dennis but never really imposed himself on the game.
8.
Joao Pedro (LW', 58 for Cleverley) - 5/10 - Spent much of the game chasing the ball.
Ken Sema (RW', 77' for Hernandez) - 4/10
Ozan Tufan (CM', 90' for Dennis) - N/A