Brentford boss Thomas Frank said his team should not be too disheartened following Saturday’s late home defeat against Brighton.
The Bees tasted defeat in the Premier League for the first time after Leandro Trossard’s 90th-minute strike stole the points for the visitors.
Yet it was another impressive performance from Frank’s side, who created a number of clear-cut chances in the closely fought contest.
And the Danish manager believes that, in spite of that cruel late twist, both he and his players could take plenty of positives.
“I would say it was similar to the first three games we played. A good performance defensively - very good to only give four shots away all game,” Frank told the club website.
We go again. We learn and we move forward 🐝 @BrentfordFC #bees pic.twitter.com/FbfABoI3c9
— David Raya Martin (@daviidraya1) September 12, 2021
“I think we were aggressive and on the front foot in the first half. We created some good opportunities, where on a good day we would put them away, and hopefully get in front.
“Second half I felt we started relatively good, but in the last 15 we came under pressure. We needed then to keep the ball better, and be more composed.
“But then if you can’t get on the ball, for whatever reason, you need to defend well and actually we did that.
“We didn’t give anything away in the last 15 minutes, except the goal. It’s the small bits where we need to do better.
“It is a good example of how tough the league is. There is a lot of quality and you can be punished.”
In only the second top-flight game at the Brentford Community Stadium, the home side were roared on by a carnival atmosphere, and responded with a positive display.
They just didn’t quite have the cutting edge to finish the Seagulls off.
Brentford were then brutally punished, when Trossard produced a stunning finish in the final minute of normal time.
A tough one to take
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) September 11, 2021
Thank you for your backing as ever this afternoon 👏👏#BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/RaOjmBr4mj
After the game manager Frank also singled out midfielder Shandon Baptiste, making his first start in nearly a year, after returning from an 11-month injury layoff just before the international break.
“Ivan (Toney) and Bryan (Mbeumo) both did well, they found each other really well. I also think another positive was Shandon Baptiste.
“He brought something different to the team, in terms of his one-on-one skills and driving past opposition payers. He created good situations and that looked promising.
“We know it is football, there are many good things to take from this game into the next game. We all hate to lose, but we’ll get our heads down and work hard onto the next game.”
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