26/07/2020 - André Ayew made amends for a penalty miss by firing in a wonderful winner to give Swansea City a priceless lead in their play-off semi-final with Brentford, who were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when Rico Henry was dismissed despite appearing to win the ball after sliding in on Connor Roberts.This was an enthralling and spicy encounter, a captivating clash between two of the Championship’s most exciting sides and Ayew’s strike was fitting of the occasion. He smacked the ball in after a wonderful move, with Conor Gallagher’s deft flick supplying Jay Fulton, who teed up the striker. Related: Championship roundup: Swansea snatch play-off spot after Forest crumble Continue reading... Collapse

23/07/2020 - England’s second tier was breathless to the last in its league season and now we have Wales v London play-offs to savourIt was remarked on a number of occasions as Liverpool were handed their trophy and medals on Wednesday night that the Premier League is the best in the world, even as events elsewhere on the same evening were doing their best to prove it might not even be the best league in this country.All right, no one is saying the standard of football in the Championship matches that of the top flight, at least not on a regular basis. But having the best players on the fattest contracts is not the only way to judge a league. In the Premier League, for instance, too many of them are concentrated at too few clubs. There is an elite at the top that will normally supply the title winners and European contenders, and the rest are really playing only to avoid relegation. Related: 'What a season, what a league': Slaven Bilic savours West Brom's promotion Related: Wigan looking to Collapse

22/07/2020 - Championship denouements do not get any more exhilarating. Barnsley preserved their second-tier status in the most dramatic fashion possible, an added-time goal from the 19-year-old substitute Clarke Oduor completing an escape that had hardly seemed likely. Wigan’s 12-point deduction means they will stay up and, on the balance of an extraordinary night’s action, it was thoroughly deserved. What a devastating blow this was for Brentford, who would have been promoted with a win but squandered their chance and must regroup for the play-offs. When Josh Dasilva equalised after Callum Styles’ first-half strike they threatened to finish the job, but Oduor converted a cross from Patrick Schmidt to steal the show in an intense back-and-forth finale.By half-time the echoes of recent history were deafening. Brentford had squandered the chance to control their destiny after losing at Stoke and, when news filtered through that Ryan Manning had scored for QPR against West Brom, the hope must have Collapse

18/07/2020 - Championship updates from the 3pm BST kick-offsUnity, trust and tactics, tactics, tactics: how Leeds made it backAnd feel free to email Simon or tweet @Simon_Burnton 2.35pm BST How do you react to losing 8-0? By making six changes is the answer. It is a must-win game for Hull against fellow strugglers Luton. The team news is in! Here's how the Tigers will line up for #HULLUT this afternoon... Six changes⬛️ Matt Ingram makes his first league start Callum Elder takes the captain's armband#hcafc | #theTigers pic.twitter.com/kqIOmFZX7r The Hatters’ line up to take on Hull City this afternoon #COYH pic.twitter.com/LfyKEiI3pm 2.29pm BST Meanwhile at the Valley, Charlton have grabbed a 93rd-minute equaliser!90+3 THIS COULD BE HUUUUUUGEEEEEE!!!!!Watch live: https://t.co/JTLeF8mDAl#cafc 2 #wafc 2 pic.twitter.com/845sOMnQpN 2.27pm BST 90+8 mins: That is it! The result of this result is that Stoke guarantee their place in the Championship next season, Leeds win the Championship title, and West Collapse

10/07/2020 - Face mask problems | Chris Grayling | Quick crossword | Brentford FC Like Nicholas Worsley (Letters, 8 July), I also wear hearing aids, so masks that attach behind the ears are useless as they keep pulling them off. I solved the problem by replacing the ear elastic with one piece of elastic sewn to the top bit to go round my head, and two ties at the bottom to go round my neck, thus making them much more comfortable. Gay Viinikka Worthing, West Sussex• The reusable cotton masks I bought (with profits going to the NHS) have a channel where a pipe cleaner can be inserted to fit the bridge of the nose. Put on the mask, pinch the pipe cleaner: no more steamed-up specs. Maggie Butcher London Continue reading... Collapse

30/06/2020 - Stuart Dallas saves Leeds from defeat against bottom side LutonBrentford keep pressure on top two with fourth successive winChampionship leaders Leeds needed a Stuart Dallas equaliser to earn a point against the division’s bottom side Luton. Harry Cornick gave the visitors the lead early in the second half with a superb strike to spark hope of a shock victory at Elland Road.However, 13 minutes later Dallas calmly slotted his effort past Simon Sluga in the Luton goal to secure a draw that extends Leeds’ lead over West Brom at the top to four points – Albion face Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday. Related: 'He could nutmeg a mermaid': the rise of Brentford's Saïd Benrahma | Ben Fisher Continue reading... Collapse

25/06/2020 - Algerian has dazzled for Brentford, having followed a familiar path through France’s lower divisions, and looks Premier League-boundBe it with backheels, rainbow flicks or making the opposition look silly, few players outside the Premier League have made a bigger impression than Saïd Benrahma in the past couple of seasons. The Brentford winger boasts an endless box of tricks but he is more than just easy on the eye – he is approaching double figures in assists after equalling last season’s goal tally of 11 with eight Championship games to play. More often than not, his coup de grâce is sliding the ball through the legs of dazed defenders. “He could nutmeg a mermaid,” said Sam Saunders, the Brentford B assistant coach.The buzz around Benrahma is growing and Friday’s game at home to West Bromwich Albion brings another opportunity to impress after he scored the opening goal in victory at Fulham last weekend. In February Middlesbrough’s Lewis Wing was left hopping in frustration after Collapse

01/05/2020 - Contingency is to promote Leeds and West Brom automaticallyOne-off play-off matches on neutral turf behind closed doorsThe English Football League’s preferred contingency for promotion from the Championship if the season cannot be completed as normal would be to promote Leeds and West Brom, who are clear in first and second place, and to play the play-offs as per current positions to determine the final spot.The play-off semi-finals would see Fulham face Preston and Brentford take on Nottingham Forest and could be played as one-off ties on neutral turf behind closed doors, rather than the usual two legs. Related: Scott Davies: how gambling led Brendan Rodgers' protege to despair | Ben Fisher Continue reading... Collapse

11/02/2020 - The big battle at the top ended in stalemate between Brentford and Leeds, while Blackburn moved up to eighth by beating Hull 3-0 10.12pm GMT Right, that’s all from me. It was, by all accounts, absolutely freezing at all the actual football matches, but from my centrally-heated seat it looked like a red-hot night of action (except for at Swansea). Bye! 9.59pm GMT Paul MacInnes was at Griffin Park to see one common-or-garden goalkeeping blunder, and one genuine goalkeeping howler. Here’s his report:Brentford were thoroughly dominated by a revitalised Leeds and even needed their visitors to gift them a goal, but still came away with a point in this intriguing top-of-the-table encounter.A horrible mistake from Kiko Casilla, not his first this season, let in Saïd Benrahma to open the scoring in the first half. But another goalkeeping error, from Brentford’s David Raya, allowed Liam Cooper to equalise before half-time. Leeds went on to grab hold of the match in the second half and created Collapse