Bees stop the rot in capital stalemate
Brentford ended a run of five consecutive Premier League (PL) defeats after holding Crystal Palace to a goalless draw. Remarkably, the ‘Eagles’ have now drawn nearly half (11) of their 24 league matches this term.
A meeting between two sides who had won just three of their last 16 outings combined had a predictably edgy opening in the capital. There was a lucky escape in store for the ‘Eagles’, as Marc Guéhi went unpunished by VAR after handling in the box, while at the other end, the visitors ought to have taken the lead when Odsonne Edouard found Jordan Ayew inside the box, but the Ghanaian blazed high and wide. Thomas Frank’s side then spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring moments before the interval, as Bryan Mbeumo’s cross found Sergi Canós, but the Spaniard somehow failed to direct his close-range header on target.
The absence of Ivan Toney was hampering the hosts’ attack, and they surrendered a huge amount of the ball in a lacklustre second half. In fact, the fans inside the Brentford Community Stadium had to wait until the 70th minute for the first effort on target of the second half, as James McArthur’s tame long-range effort was collected by David Raya.
Brentford finally forced Vicente Guaita into action from a set-piece late on, as the Spaniard produced an impressive reflex stop to deny Pontus Jansson’s header. Despite a strong finish from the hosts, this drab and dreary affair got the result it ultimately deserved, leaving Palace without a PL win on their travels in London in their last eight attempts and just one league win away from Selhurst Park.