Kevin Schade’s 18th-minute goal saw Brentford to a 1-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road. The German international headed home a controversial three-times-taken corner with the Blues ultimately worthy of a point, Omari Hutchinson coming closest with a late strike which visitors keeper Mark Flekken pushed onto a post.
Town boss Kieran McKenna made one change from last week’s 2-2 draw at Everton with Axel Tuanzebe returning to the starting XI.
Tuanzebe, who had again been struggling with his recent hamstring problem, was at right-back with Luke Woolfenden dropping to the bench and Dara O’Shea moving into the middle of the backline.
Ben Johnson was back on the bench after his one-match ban but with Kalvin Phillips again absent after returning as a sub at Goodison Park having been suffering with an achilles issue.
Brentford named the same side that beat Manchester United 4-3 at the Gtech Community Stadium last week.
Town began on the front foot and in the second minute Hutchinson crossed from the right to Liam Delap, but the striker’s header was too close to Flekken in the Brentford goal.
On 12, with neither side having created a further opportunity, Julio Enciso dummied the ball then chased it into the Bees’ half before being hauled back by Michael Kayode, who was probably fortunate to avoid a booking.
https://x.com/PLMatchCentre/status/1921211269740187860
In the 16th minute, much to the surprise of the Town players and fans, VAR paused the game for penalty check following a clash between Jacob Greaves and Sepp van den Berg as a corner was being taken on the right.
From the footage shown, Greaves had appeared to haul over the Brentford defender while falling, although what caused him to be tumbling wasn’t shown.
However, ultimately VAR decided against awarding a spot-kick as the corner hadn’t been taken and the ball wasn’t in play.
Before the flag-kick was taken again, Bees skipper Christian Norgaard pulled over Jack Taylor at the back of the box, referee Sam Barrott booking the pair, much to the annoyance of the Town midfielder, who felt he’d been fouled.
Eventually, Bryan Mbeumo sent the ball over for a third time and Schade rose high at the near post to flick the ball across Alex Palmer and into the corner of the net, the German’s 11th goal of the season.
Town fans, irked by the circumstances surrounding the goal, made their irritation with referee Barrott clear in the 32nd minute when they loudly and sarcastically celebrated a free-kick given against Norgaard for a foul on Hutchinson.
The Bees quickly won the ball back after the free-kick and Mbeumo was played in on the right of the box but the Cameroonian international’s rather scuffed effort was saved down to his right by Palmer.
A minute later, Schade received the ball from Mbeumo in the area and momentarily appeared to have an opening, but his control let him down and he went to ground under the attentions of Tuanzebe appealing for a penalty. Referee Barrott waved away the protests and VAR agreed.
Taylor shot powerfully wide of Flekken’s right post from distance in the 39th minute with chances rare at both ends.
As the game moved into two additional minutes, Mikkel Damsgaard scraped a shot across the face and wide from the left of the area after a Mbeumo strike from the other side of the box had been deflected into the air.
At the whistle, there were boos from the Town support aimed towards referee Barrott for the circumstances relating to the goal, perhaps more the second incident involving Norgaard and Taylor rather than the first when the Blues appeared fortunate not to have conceded a penalty with the ball deemed not in play when both clashes occurred.
Aside from that incident, Brentford had been the better side but by not an awful lot having not been allowed to create too much, while still looking the most threatening, particularly from set pieces.
Town’s only real chances had been Delap’s early header and Taylor’s shot wide towards the end.
Two minutes after the restart, Yoane Wissa pole-axed Greaves with a shot from the right of the area, the defender, playing at left-back again, able to continue after a brief hiatus.
Town started to see more of the ball and in the 51st minute Enciso, who had been quiet since the early stages, brought it into the area from the left but failed to find Delap with his low pass.
Within a minute at the other end, Wissa was played in by Damsgaard and took his shot early, but Palmer got down quickly to his left to save.
The Blues were very close to getting on terms in the 54th minute when Hutchinson whipped over a left-footed cross from the right and Delap just failed to get the touch which which have guided it inside the post, while Greaves behind him seemed unsighted.
Two minutes later, Town swapped Chaplin for Jack Clarke with Enciso moving into the middle, then on 62 Jens Cajuste and George Hirst took over from Taylor and Delap.
Moments after the changes, Clarke lost possession midway inside the Town half and the Bees broke towards the area and Keane Lewis-Potter and Kayode each had efforts blocked before Schade shot low through to Palmer, while Lewis-Potter claimed a penalty to no avail.
Five minutes later, VAR checked another incident, one not dissimilar to the Greaves incident in the first half. This time the ball was in flight as Tuanzebe and Nathan Collins tussled. VAR opted against awarding a penalty with both players deemed to have been committing fouls.
In the 70th minute, Mbeumo volleyed a left-sided cross powerfully towards goal from beyond the back post, Palmer saving very sharply. Wissa followed up with a strike which deflected into the air then caught Greaves in the face with a boot as he attempted an overhead kick, bizarrely with the foot which hadn’t struck the ball. While the Town support called for a red card, referee Barrott showed only a yellow.
Four minutes later, after Mathias Jensen had replaced goalscorer Schade, there was more corner controversy, this time at the other end, Greaves claiming a penalty after wrestling with Yehor Yarmoliuk. Overworked VAR Jarred Gillett took a look but felt no offence had been committed.
Morsy shot over after good work from Enciso and Clarke, then, as the game moved into its final 10 minutes, there was more controversy, Hirst escaping behind the Brentford backline following a defensive slip. As the striker burst into the area to shoot his heel appeared to be clipped and his effort bobbled wide.
Hirst vehemently appealed that he had been fouled - although replays suggested the contact was outside the box - but again the decision went against the Blues.
On 82, Hutchinson went very close to getting Town back on terms, beating Jensen on the right of the box before hitting a shot which Flekken pushed onto his post and behind.
Ahead of the flag-kick, Hirst was shoved into the goal by Kayode and referee Barrott booked both players, with the Scotland international looking bemused by the decision.
When the corner came in, it flicked off a Brentford player and inched narrowly past the far post for another flag-kick.
Town continued to push for an equaliser but in the 84th minute Enciso’s shot was wayward. A minute later, Town replaced Tuanzebe with Johnson and the Bees Damsgaard with Igor Thiago.
With the game in the second of five additional minutes, Yarmoliuk was booked for a foul on Enciso, again prompting cheers from the home support frustrated with the way the game had been refereed.
A minute later, Town again went very close to levelling. Hutchinson crossed from the right, the ball was too high for Hirst but Cameron Burgess behind him shot across Flekken, who saved with his left foot.
After the Bees had switched Wissa for Yunus Konak, Town created another chance, Hutchinson again creating the opportunity, cutting back inside his man on the right and sending over a cross which Hirst met but headed straight at Flekken.
The Blues looped the ball back into the box one more time but too close to the keeper before referee Barrott’s whistle confirmed another defeat for Town and was the trigger for chants of ‘1-0 to the referee’ from the home support, who one again warmly applauded their team as they went over to pay tribute.
Once more the Blues, who have extended their record run of home defeats to eight, will feel they deserved more from a game which they lost by one goal having had a number of decent chances to level, most of them in the final 15 minutes.
Hirst looked to have been clipped when through, while Flekken made excellent saves from both Hutchinson and Burgess, while the Scotland international may feel he should have directed his late header away from the keeper.
The main story of the game, however was the constant grappling at set pieces at both ends, largely instigated by Brentford, which referee Barrott failed to get a handle on all match leading to frequent VAR calls breaking the game up and making it a frustrating watch for supporters of both teams.
However, the letter of the law was probably adhered to ahead of the game’s winning goal, assuming the ball wasn’t in play prior to Taylor being fouled by Norgaard, something which wasn't clear from replays shown during the match.
The win sees Brentford maintain their push for Europe, while Town continue to look for their second home win of the season with only the final-day visit by West Ham - which follows next Sunday’s trip to Leicester - remaining.
Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy (c), Taylor (Cajuste 62), Hutchinson, Chaplin (Clarke 56), Enciso, Delap (Hirst 62). Unused: Walton, Woolfenden, Johnson, Godfrey, Boniface, Luongo.
Brentford: Flekken, Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard (c), Yarmoliuk. Damsgaard (Thiago 85), Mbeumo, Schade (Jensen 72), Wissa. Unused: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Mee, Konak, Maghoma, Nunes. Referee: Sam Barrott (West Riding). VAR: Jarred Gillett. Att: 29,511 (Brentford: 2,953).