Brentford (1) 1 v 1 (0) West Ham United
1 Mbeumo, assist Carvalho 54 Soucek, assist Antonio
Yellows: Lewis-Potter, Yarmoliuk Irving, Kilman, Emerson
Played Saturday 28 September 2024 at The Gtech Community Stadium, att. 17,050.
Where else to start except with the Premier League (PL) history making new record of Brentford FC ? For the third consecutive match they scored a goal in the first minute – indeed in the first 40 seconds! It was Yoane Wissa in 22 seconds away at PL Champions Manchester City on 14 September; Bryan Mbeumo in 23 seconds away to Tottenham Hotspur; and then Mbeumo again 38 seconds in this match. What is the mathematical probability of this happening? Whatever it is multiply this by the 1 in 8 chance that a team will have the kick-off – home or away- 3 matches in a row. The odds on a first minute hat-trick by Mbeumo must be huge – watch out Wolves it’s your turn next!
Having the ball at kick-off allows Brentford to pass it back to the goalkeeper or a defender while 5 or more players rush into their opponents’ penalty box for a long ball forward. This they did again and scored. West Ham United were not shell-shocked by this and although they only had 42.8% possession overall they had 19 shots to Brentford’s 8, (both had 3 on target), and 39 touches in the opposition penalty box. The Hammers’ equalizer was deserved and came through Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio’s persistence in attack scrambling the ball home.
There are no Premier London Derbies (PLDs) this coming PL round over the weekend 4 and 5 October, and then it’s another International/Nation’s League break. When the PL then resumes our next PLDs fixture is Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United on Saturday 19 October but more of that later.
Until next time, “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.