Same old story, Latics

COLLISION COURSE . . . Dean Furman is bundled to the ground as Harry Forrester produced a committed challenge for Brentford.

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

Brentford 1, Athletic 0
AT THE end, just as at the beginning, Athletic were thoroughly on top in this game.

Matt Smith could hardly believe his bad luck when Simon Moore brilliantly scooped out his downward goalbound header in the 89th minute.

Had it crept in, then the visitors - at that stage peppering the Brentford penalty area with corners and crosses - would probably have picked up a point.

A draw had seemed the least reward likely for Paul Dickov’s side as they took total control in the opening quarter-hour, zipping the ball low and quickly across the Griffin Park turf and attacking with both numbers and intent.

But the ends can’t be allowed to squeeze out the middle: Athletic again disappointed with the overall quality of their football and were second-best overall. After the steady promise of recent showings, this was a frustrating disappointment.

Adam Forshaw’s goal was both a surprise and dreadfully familiar. It came completely against the run of play in the 17th minute, as the former Everton midfielder raced into the box to finish off a slick move that was in sharp contrast to his team’s slow start.

Sadly, the theme of catastrophic defensive mishaps continued to work against Athletic in terms of the

build-up to the only goal of the contest.

Jean-Yves Mvoto must have thought he saw Lee Croft out on the right touchline. He was mistaken, and a wayward floated square pass put Athletic in danger. Lively winger Harry Forrester picked up possession and seconds later, Forshaw was celebrating his first goal in senior football.

What didn’t happen next was crucial: Athletic should have stuck to playing the ball through midfield to get them on to the front foot. It had worked, clearly; Matt Derbyshire forced Moore into a diving stop and Dean Furman had a shot deflected just off-target early on as the movement and quick passing of Dickov’s side posed tough questions.

Instead, the ball was impatiently launched from back to front too quickly, giving possession to Brentford regularly and putting to waste the talents of the principal members of the team. The

initiative was lost.

Brentford are a doughty side with plenty of talent in their ranks. They are expected to trouble the top six. But Athletic’s own goal must be greater than to succumb to such a lack of conviction in their approach.

Even given the stirring late assault in search of only a sixth goal of the campaign, the talents of Cristian Montano and Croft aren’t utilised properly when a direct route is taken.

Jose Baxter, on as a substitute in a central midfield role, caused problems for Brentford every time he got the ball at his feet – which, sadly from an Athletic point of view, happened not nearly often enough.








Only a small number of our daily stories appear, heavily edited, on this site. For the full story read our print or eChron editions.



Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle