The Fortress Stands

The scale of the challenge facing Brentford’s unbeaten home record became crystal clear when the Magpies clattered one off the bar less than 2 minutes after kick-off.

Newcastle United are a Champions League level team now and they had come to our fortress to knock us down to size.

They forgot one very important thing though…. no one defeats Brentford in their fortress.

The Toon army were given a lot of hope in the first half though, as the visitors played their hosts off the park, only to head down the tunnel at half-time with the scores at 2-a-piece.

Guarantees are few and far between in football, but one that has held true all season is ‘there will be goals at the Gtech’ and so it was again, with Newcastle quickly pegging their hosts back each time they went behind in the first-half.

That’s right, despite being played off the park in midfield for most of the half it was the hosts who took the lead twice.

Firstly through the virtuoso talents of Bryan Mbuemo twisting this way and that to tie his markers in knots before smashing home from 12 yards out past a perplexed Nick Pope in the 6th minute. Then restoring their lead just before the half-hour as Yoane Wissa pounced on an under-hit backpass to steal in and side foot home from the edge of the box.

Alexander Isak should have put Newcastle ahead earlier in the half, having drawn them level with a diving header from 6 yards out just 6 minutes after they went behind, but he fluffed his lines at the last second, dithering on the ball just long enough to allow Mark Flekken to palm the ball out from under his feet and save a certain goal.

Not to worry though as the visitors would be behind for only 4 minutes this time before Harvey Barnes took advantage of time and space in the area to spin and slam the ball home across the face of Flekken and into the bottom right corner.

Neither set of fans could doubt the entertainment of what they were witnessing, but to call some of the defending circumspect would be generous in the extreme.

The host’s defence tightened up immeasurably after the break, the visitors did not.

Having seen their visitors burst out of the traps in the first half the hosts decided to see if they could take it as well as dish it out in the second as a devastating break from midfield ended with Wissa witnessing his shot palmed onto the post by Pope.

It was abundantly clear that only one team would win it in this second half but when the hosts 3rd goal arrived the circumstances were almost comical, unless you’re a Magpies fan that is.

Flekken launched a free-kick forward from half-way and it sailed over everyone to land at the feet of centre-back Nathan Collins, who took it in stride and side footed it across Pope and into the net with a single flick of his left foot.

Despite running the deflated visitors ragged for the rest of the match it appeared a 4th goal wouldn’t come for the hosts, until it did with just 4 seconds of the regulation 90 left to play.

Christian Norgaard pouncing on a loose touch in midfield to feed the ball to Mbuemo, who then slid it right into the stride of Kevin Shade and it was Shade, the hat-trick hero against the foxes last week, that would cap off another home victory for the West Londoners with a cheeky chip over the sprawling body of the onrushing Pope.

The scoreline should have been even worse for the Tynesiders when Pope was dispossessed in midfield by Mbuemo and his shot towards an open goal had to be cleared off the line by Dan Burn, Pope you owe him drinks all week for that one.

At the final whistle The Magpies were sent north through Storm Darragh licking their wounds, but with the chance for revenge in just over a weeks time at home in the League Cup Quarter Final.

See you there