Brentford 1 v 1 Cambridge United

Cambridge United won 5-4 on penalties
Tuesday 13th August 2019
EFL Cup 1st Round
Griffin Park, Brentford
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 5,215

I had very much wanted to visit Griffin Park at some stage this season, being the last season before the stadium, which has been home to Brentford since 1904, is demolished and the club moves to a new stadium less than a mile away. Tonight provided the perfect opportunity for that, as I was on holiday from work so a late night would be an issue, and also the club were offering tickets for just £5.00 on the terrace, or £10.00 for a seat. As much for the enjoyment of watching games on a terrace as the cheaper price, I chose the terrace.

After spending the early afternoon in central London watching a screening of the BBC TV show Still Open All Hours, at the BBC Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House, with a very welcome appearance in the theatre of Sir David Jason to introduce it, I made my way over to West London well in advance of kick-off, which gave me time to walk around the stadium when it was less crowded, and to have a pint at one of the four pubs located on each corner of the ground. I chose The Griffin, which seemed to be the most homely. Before entering the ground, I enjoyed the old fashioned nature of the ground, nestled in amongst terraced houses, and feeling quite sad that such grounds are rapidly disappearing. Once inside the ground, I made my way to the Ealing Road terrace behind one of the goals, a compact, covered, relatively modern stand which offers good unobstructed views of the action. When I previously visited Griffin Park, in 2009, I sat in the all-seater stand stretching the entire length on one side. An old structure, it has supporting pillars along the front and a gantry along the top could impede one's view if sat towards the back of the stand. On the opposite side is the Braemar Stand, all-seater with quite a low roof, and with a few supporting pillars along one half. Behind the other goal is the unusual looking double decker stand, with a small terrace along the bottom, and seating above, all in a very compact, box-like structure. Programmes can sometimes be hit and miss for League Cup fixtures, but the one produced for this fixture was very decent, 52 page with a glossy, hardened cover with had a retro design, and plenty of interesting reading material and statistics to digest.

This game looked a tall order for the visitors, with Brentford finishing in 11th place in the EFL Championship last season, and have opened this season with a 0-1 home defeat against Birmingham and then a 0-1 win at Middlesbrough, while Cambridge United had a battle against relegation from the EFL last season, eventually finishing in 21st place in the 24 team League Two, six points clear of  the relegation zone, and they have started this season with two goalless draws, away to Bradford then at home to Newport County. Recent history in this competition did not bode well for Cambridge, having lost eight of their last nine games. Interestingly, these two teams had not played each other since 2003, in the Football League Trophy.

On a sunny evening, this game got off to a surprising start, with the underdog visitors taking the lead with just three minutes on the clock. Brentford lost possession 25 yards out, the ball was played forward to Andrew Dallas in the area, and he passed the ball across the area to a completely unmarked Marc Richards 8 yards out in a central position, and although his initial shot was saved by the keeper, he tapped the rebound home. Brentford had made a lot of changes to their team for this fixture, and it showed as, although they controlled the game as Cambridge looked to remain tight and compact, they struggled to get their game together, and far too often gave possession away with misplaced passes. losing momentum too readily.

The pattern continued through into the second half, and Cambridge were holding their own well, and it was getting difficult to see how Brentford would get back on level terms, until they did on 70 minutes. Substitute Ollie Watkins, who had only come on 6 minutes previously took possession of the ball toward the outer edge of the penalty area, jinked around with the ball, just about keeping his footing before passing the ball low across to Michael Forss, who struck the ball first time in off the post. One wondered if that would open the floodgates for Brentford to go and win the tie in the remaining minutes, but although they did apply some pressure, they never really convinced that they would score again, and as the referee whistle blew, the game went straight to penalties - no extra time is played in this competition these days.

The penalties were taken in front of the Cambridge fans, after both teams scored their first penalties, they both saw their second ones saved. The third and fourth penalties were scored by both teams, but crucially, Brentford has their fifth saved, allowing Harvey Knibbs - on his professional debut - to win the game for Cambridge as he stroked the ball into the bottom left corner, sending the keeper the wrong way for quite an upset. Although Brentford did not field their first team, neither did Cambridge, who were rewarded for a disciplined, battling display while Brentford struggled all evening to impose themselves on the game.

Video highlights of the game can be watched by clicking here.