February 27, (THEWILL) – Christian Eriksen made a spectacular comeback to competitive football as he came from the bench to feature in Brentford’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle as part of what finished as a 10-man squad.
Despite coming on as a second-half substitute with the hosts down two goals and a man, the Dane showed flashes of his acclaimed brilliance.
At the ten-minute mark, the Bees were reduced to 10 men and had the challenge of finishing the tie with that deficit. Josh Dasilva tried to outrun Matt Targett to a loose ball with his body, but inadvertently placed his boot in the player’s ankle. Dasilva was sent off for major foul play after a VAR check.
Brentford continued to seem the superior side in possession despite their one-man disadvantage, though they were almost caught on the counter when Chris Wood rose to meet Ryan Fraser’s cross, but David Raya beat his header away.
After half an hour, Brentford’s resistance was shattered when Joelinton headed down another wonderful cross from Fraser beyond Kristoffer Ajer.
Soon after the opener, Fraser came close to adding his own goal, but Raya made a superb reflex stop to deny the Scot, and Brentford were able to clear their lines.
Newcastle doubled their lead on the break when the Bees overcommitted for a corner, with Fabian Schar sliding the ball to Joe Willock for the goal.
Brentford’s first attempt came shortly after the break, when Christian Norgaard headed over a Bryan Mbeumo free-kick, before Eriksen came on to replace Mathias Jensen, bringing the entire stadium to their feet.
That change provided the Bees the boost they needed, making them look more threatening and allowing them to play with more purpose.
Brentford pushed hard for a way back into the game, and Norgaard’s curling effort sailed just over the top of Martin Dubravka’s bar.
Brentford, despite their bravery and daring, were unable to score the crucial goal, and Newcastle took all three points home.
Newcastle climbed to 14th place in the standings with the win, ahead of their next match against Brighton next weekend. Brentford, meanwhile, dropped to 15th place and has now gone eight league games without a win. The next time they play, they will visit Norwich City hoping to get back to winning ways.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
