Brilliant Brentford have done it again. Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Cardiff City saw Dean Smith’s side make it 13 points from 15 over April whilst all but ending the visitor’s play off aspirations. But it was less the win and more the performance of super sub Scott Hogan that saw supporters leaving Griffin Park with genuine spring in the step.
Nobody needs any reminding of the interminable fight back from injury that Scott has endured these last two seasons. Yet that all seemed a distant memory as he came off the bench to equalise against Bristol City on Saturday afternoon. Exciting though it had been , it was merely the aperitif for what came tonight.
Not one but, this time, two goals for Scott in just 14 minutes as he rescued things once more for the Bees. The first a close range tap in after Barbet had hit the bar (bet?) whilst the second saw him latch on to Lasse Vibe’s pass to double the lead with a beautiful finish from a tight angle.
View from the terrace – Scott and Nico celebrate the opener
Despite a last minute consolation for Cardiff, the points were secure and mean that Scott has now scored three times in his last 32 minutes of League football. Just to put that into perspective, it’s one more than Nick Proschwitz managed all of last season and just two behind Northern Ireland International Will Grigg’s total for 2013/14.
Peter Gilham announced the goals over the p.a. system with similar exuberance to that on Saturday. I thought he was going to explode on the second, such was his excitement. Hey, had Scott got the hat-trick I think our man with the mic would have been celebrating like he’d won the FA Cup
More importantly though, the partnership he is forming with Lasse really is one to savour. Oh to see how they play together once Scott has regained his full match fitness.
Did Brentford deserve it tonight? Absolutely. Whilst Cardiff had the slightly better of a first half that Dean Smith would later describe, somewhat politely in my opinion, as “dismal”, it was the Bees who created the better chances the second period.
Lasse Vibe, clean through, had the very best of these. With just Marshall in the Cardiff goal to beat he squared it to Woods who, with just Marshall in the Cardiff goal to beat, returned it to his team mate. The momentum was lost and the chance smothered.
Still, as it transpired, this Chuckle Brothers tribute act didn’t matter. On a surreal night that saw everything from low flying herons over Griffin Park (not, as one terrace observer thought, a seagull suffering from gigantism) to a post match hissy fit from Cardiff’s keeper, two goals and three points that were all that mattered.
View from the terrace – City down and out after the second
Honourable mention must also go to Josh Clarke. He gave a very assured and confident display standing in for Maxime Colin. With James Ferry on the bench for the Bristol game and Reece Cole being given a similar honour tonight, it says a lot about the Bees youth system that these players are now coming through.
City manager Russell Slade was his usual curmudgeonly self after the game. Reporter Ian Abrahams (aka Broadcast Moose) subsequently took to Twitter where he noted: What a bad loser Russell Slade has become, friendly as anything in his Orient days,tonight point blank refused to do a post match interview.Always sad to report when someone you think you know, you really don’t know at all, shame as Cardiff’s press team are so helpful & friendly.Mr Slade could only grunt no to me when I asked if he’d speak to me. Get over it Russell even the very best lose games at times.
Still, that’s their problem. Maybe there’d been a fight over the pies but it showed that, just as at Leyton Orient two years ago, Brentford had got one over the baseball cap sporting manager once again.
And doesn’t it feel good ? Like celebrating as though we’d won the…..
BBC Billy celebrates the moment 🙂
Nick Bruzon
BrentfordFC 
Just got in! Blimey, you managed to write a Last Word while I was still travelling home. Although I love midweek games under the lights, I dont like the inevitable motorway closures on the way back after (2 tonight)! In a way, Im glad of the break until at least August from discovering new parts of the countryside in the dark whilst looking for the smallest of yellow ‘diversion’ signs.
Tonight’s highlight, clearly Scott Hogan. Now we realise why Dale fans loved him, this player is something special. You just feel that every time he is anywhere near the ball in the box, he can score. Fast & strong too. We also saw another side to Lasse, playing that Beardsley/Sheringham role. Things clearly changed once Scott & Sergi were on, lets hope the XI that finished, start on Saturday.
Oh the fella who confused a heron for a seagull, well the first heron looked pretty confused too.
Well, i guess MB knew how well Hogan was going to perform in his interview a few months ago when we were staring down the barrell at lg1 on an incredible losing streak and he was talking down getting another striker because Scott was busy getting match fit and would come back into the squad. I questioned whether the lad would ever be the same again after a double cruciate ligament injury on the same knee…..I’m more than happy to have been wrong to do so!
He certainly has commitment and seems in good physical shape. I jyst hope we are sensible from now till the end of the season with how much game time he gets.
I see Dean has already talked about the possibilty of a starting birth, whereas i hope he gradually builds up to getting a full half under his belt by the end of the season and let him start next season….all in all though, what aroller coaster of a season….down, then up, down again, and now reaching for top half….amazing.