Brentford 0-0 Town - Half-Time Saturday, 13th Aug 2016 15:57 Town’s first away game of the 2016/17 season against Brentford at Griffin Park remains 0-0 at the break. Boss Mick McCarthy made two changes from the team which beat Barnsley 4-2 on the opening day. Hat-trick hero Grant Ward was handed his first league start for the Blues, as was loanee Conor Grant, the duo having come on as half-time subs last week. The pair started in wide roles, Ward on the right and Grant on the left, with Freddie Sears moving up front alongside Daryl Murphy. The injured David McGoldrick dropped out of the squad, while Teddy Bishop moved to the bench. New re-signing Luke Varney wasn’t included in the 18. Ward struck the first shot of the game in the third minute after Ryan Woods needlessly surrendered possession midway inside his own half. The 21-year-old brought the ball forward before hitting a powerful low drive which Brentford keeper Daniel Bentley claimed confidently. Neither side created another opportunity in the first quarter of a hour in a fairly open and even game but with little penalty area action. On-loan Everton man Grant went close to his first Town goal in the 17th minute when he curled a 25-yard freekick just past Bentley’s right post, Jonas Knudsen having been fouled. Grant went close again in the 21st minute after breaking into the area on the left having been fed by Murphy but Bentley managed to bundle his low near-post shot wide. From the resultant corner Christophe Berra headed over. Town continued to look the more dangerous side and almost went in front in the 24th minute. Sears fed Knudsen to his left and the full-back sent over a low ball to Ward, whose effort was blocked by Callum Elder. The ball cannoned off Sears to Murphy at a tight angle on the right but the Irishman was only able to turn on to the roof of the net. Brentford’s first chance of the game came in the 32nd minute when Woods threaded in Josh Clarke between Berra and Knudsen. But, with the Danish international putting him under pressure, Clarke screwed his shot well wide. Adam Webster picked up the game’s first booking for a foul on Scott Hogan in the 39th minute. The Blues threatened again four minutes before the break when Cole Skuse played Murphy in on the left, however, the Irishman’s low ball towards Sears was cut out by Harlee Dean. Brentford’s best chance of the half came a minute later, Webster challenged Hogan on the edge of the box and the ball fell to Lewis Macleod, who scraped a shot only just past Bartosz Bialkowski’s right post when he should have hit the target. Soon after at the other end, Murphy flicked on a long ball to Sears on the edge of the box but the Town number 20, without a goal in 28 games, shot well wide. That was the last chance of a half in which the Blues had had the better of the chances and Bentley was the busier keeper. However, the Bees had started to look more threatening towards the end when Macleod should have done much better with his opportunity. Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bru, Ward, Grant, Sears, Murphy. Subs: Gerken, T Smith, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Douglas, Dozzell, Bishop. Brentford: Bentley, Colin, Elder, Dean, Egan, Yennaris, Woods, Clarke, Macleod, Hogan, Sawyers. Subs: Bonham, Bjelland, Saunders, Kershbaumer, Hofmann, McEachran, Ledesma. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire).
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