[Marco4]

I think the difference I noticed between Town and Brentford the most was the range of approaches. I understand that Town were playing as compact at the back as they can, so the options for going forward were always going to be limited, but the few times they were able to mix it up instead of hitting long balls into the channels for Vaughan, Bunn and to a lesser extent Scannell to chase they looked genuinely as if something might come of it - though the speed in players joining those fledgling attacks tend to meant they were snuffed out early, there was potential for something to come that way.

By contrast Brentford attacked (except for the second half of the first half, when they struggled to break Town down) with a range of options - from strikers pulling wide to knock down to wide players, to wingers cutting inside to either work the ball across the pitch or find an overlap, even to little interchanges on the edge of the box that, fortunately, Town were able to deal with, though I reckon they had a decent shout for handball just before half-time when one of those passes caught (I think) Wallace square on the arm, which was well away from his body.

There was, in red and white stripes, a few players who looked like they were thinking ahead of the game - instead of the 'get the ball, then what do I do with it' that Town's players showed, it was as if they planned what was going to happen before they did get the ball - yes, because they're not world beaters it didn't come off every time, but they played some fabulous football at times. I do wonder if there's something that they work on in training; little set plays that can be used in open play. It would make sense to do that on a micromanagement level - if you've had your players running through things time and again on the training pitch, even if they don't quite get the opportunity every game, the fact they've done it a lot will mean they can default to the 'plays' they've learned - a bit like an American Football playbook but not bookended by a stop and start, just an opportunity to action it.

So yes, Town were beaten by the better side. First half, they managed to turn it round and get back into it. Second half, Brentford came out early, warmed up, and toasted Town from the off. Still, before the third goal went in, it was looking to be following a similar patter to the first, but that one really killed the game - not sure Town had a shot after the third goal, to be honest. Unfortunate that they were killed off by a slice of fortune, but if they hadn't been, it would have been delaying the inevitable.

As it was, I had a lovely evening out, so its not the end of the world for me; I wish Brentford well (as ever) and hope that if I do get to go to Griffin Park in future, it isn't as a result of some painful failure on their part.